Reviewed by Tony Cummings Those, like me, who are fascinated by Jesus music and that time in the early '70s when newly converted teenage Californians appropriated the pop, folk and rock musics of their day to sing simple songs of faith will be delighted to see this 1971 album available on CD for the first time. Children Of The Day, consisting of Marsha Carter Stevens (vocals, guitar), her sister Wendy Carter Fremin (vocals, guitar), Russ Stevens (vocals, bass) and Peter Jacobs (guitar, keyboards), were a seminal act in the journey of a music from the naïve, evangelistic Jesus music of 1971 (the year this album was first released) to contemporary Christian music's radio friendly pop of 1979 (when the group released the last of their seven albums). The sleevenote is an edited version of the Children Of The Day entry in Mark Allan Powell's Encyclopedia Of Contemporary Christian Music. In Powell's original, the author suggested COTD sounded a bit like Peter, Paul & Mary and the Seekers, which they do. Unfortunately, whoever did the editing for the sleevenote has taken out the Seekers and suggested the group resemble The Mamas And The Papas and Simon And Garfunkel, which they don't. So, if you think you might enjoy Jesus music served with a large helping of cheesy, folk-tinged innocence, you should investigate this charming set. There are some Jesus music aficionados around who have proclaimed 'Come To The Water' a classic. But it isn't that. The major snags are the rather limp production (credited to the Holy Spirit, though I don't think we can blame him) and Marsha Carter Stevens' voice which has a sweet, thin quality which may have passed muster in the '70s but sounds stiffly formal today. But she was only 16 when she recorded this album and her beautiful song of faith "For Those Tears I Died" really IS a classic composition. Elsewhere, other members of the group sing lead and write songs and "New Life" by Peter Jacobs and "As A Child" by Wendy Carter Femin and Peter Jacobs have plenty of '70s Californian soft pop charm. Finally, the sleevenote (maybe understandably) fails to note the spiritual debacle that finished Children Of The Day when in the late '70s Marsha Stevens, married and with children, left her family after announcing she was a lesbian. A sad end indeed.
The opinions expressed in this article are
not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed
views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may
not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a
later date. Interested in reviewing music? Find out
more here.
|