Out Of Darkness - The Celebration Club Session

Friday 1st October 1993
Out Of Darkness - The Celebration Club Session
Out Of Darkness - The Celebration Club Session

STYLE: Jesus Music
RATING 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 5249-4940
LABEL: Plankton PCDN138
FORMAT: CD Album
RELEASE DATE: 1993-08-27

Reviewed by Andy Long

Out Of Darkness were The, no I mean THE Christian band in the early 70s. At a time when serious Christian music was unheard of and most sandal-toting Jesus hippies were content to bash out a three chord Psalm 23 on a nylon-strung acoustic from Woolworths. Wray Powell and OOD stood out like a shining beacon in a fog of mediocrity. Their sound was unmistakably Hendrixy, Wray tweaked his fuzzy Strat with a Crybaby and cranked up his Marshall mercilessly. This six-song set was recorded in one afternoon on a four-track portable studio 'live' in an empty club. Nigel Palmer has given it some 1993 post-production work which does improve the quality. Songs of discipleship and drug abstention were rare in those times. The two outstanding tracks are "Worldpool", a creation hymn of varying moods, with a beautiful lyric expounding the harmony of creation and "Child Of The Universe", which closes the album in 13 minutes of wonderful improvisational soloing, including several time-signature changes. Okay, maybe the lead breaks are not perfect, and maybe Wray's pitching is a bit dodgy, but these elements don't even matter, the historical value of the album makes it one of this year's most exciting releases, and there are only 1,000 of them so you'd better hurry up!

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.

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Reader Comments

Posted by Keith Lannon in Lincoln @ 20:35 on Dec 4 2017

I remember shortly after my conversion in 68 going to Liverpool to attend an MGO concert. OOD was the one I remember most. I think it was the only time I heard them sing about "Moses at the Red Sea..." and the chorus was, "God had said He'd carry them through. And I can climb the highest mountain, 'cos I'm trusting Him too." I am singing it as I type it. Not even the Beatles had that kind of impact on me, and I loved them. One hearing and I can sing it ...though not all the words almost 50 years later. Is there any way I can get hold of a copy of OOD singing that song?



Posted by Terry Chivers in West Somerset @ 11:20 on Aug 21 2008

Ah, this takes me back! What a brilliant band OOD was! I played guitar with a much lesser-known Christian blues band called Farmer Bill Jackson who supported OOD in 1970 at the Bristol concert on the Sound Vision tour. It was a massive privilege to share a stage with such talented friends and an experience I'll never forget. Nice review, Andy, and thanks for the nostalgia.



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