Bob Rice is an anarchist when it comes to contemporary Catholic music! Who else but a rebel would break the rules of any recorded musician and release two CDs just months apart from each other? After making his anthology CD The Best of Bob Rice available, he was ready to release his newest CD Nowhere Else to Go. The revolution doesn’t stop there as Rice has changed his style for this CD and recorded a “Catholic Bluegrass” album. This is something very different from a man whose regular gig is with the band Backyard Galaxy, that normally plays Catholic alternative rock. Currently in the recording world there was only one known “Catholic Bluegrass” artist--Fr Edward Richard. Rice has added him and Catholic singer Katie Rose as additions to this CD and the combination is incredible. The CD starts off with a perfect blend of acapella vocals by Rice and Rose on the song “On That Great And Terrible Day” and segues nicely in “Come All Ye Sinners.” It’s on this song that we first hear Fr. Richard’s great banjo playing. The whole sequence is brilliantly done. The song is based on Acts 2 where Peter tells the people to “Repent and be baptized.” The title track, “Nowhere Else To Go,” stays in that same mood with a reminder that if you have Christ you have nowhere else you need to go, since you have it all now. It’s kind of like the disciples who left Jesus when they heard His teaching on the Eucharist in John 6. Many left Him, but those that were true stayed. We must remain like the ones who stayed. Looking ahead to what our reward will be is the idea behind the song “In The Land Of My Exile.” Rice wrote this tune about his grandmother and you can hear the love he has for her and how she was an example of faith. She gave it her all everyday. Giving it all to God and giving it continually is what the song “It Would Be Enough” echoes. “My Things Need More Things” is an intelligent yet comedic view of how materialism can take over your life and push God aside. (Chris Padgett makes an appearance in this song.) I can’t help but remember an old George Carlin joke about how your house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and buy more stuff. God has to be number one. God is enough. We hear this in the song “Let Nothing Trouble You,“ which is based on a prayer by St. Teresa of Avila.

Referring to Nowhere Else to Go, Bob Rice has said, “The album is a very, very subtle concept album. I don’t think most people would pick up on it right away and that’s cool. I’d rather have them just enjoy the music.”


Chris Padgett has been a very busy guy in the last few months. Not only did he appear on Bob Rice’s CD as the voice of the “lawn mower,” but he and his wife were on EWTN’s Life on the Rock TV program. Padgett also has released two new items here at CatholicMusicNetwork.com. One is a new DVD that will be reviewed next month and the other is a new CD called The Encounter. This new CD shows that Padgett's love for the Mass is so deep that he had to record a collection of worship music. Basically, Padgett has taken his unique style of music and blended it with parts we sing at Mass. What you get is his well-known vocal style and light pop or acoustic music put together with the “Kyrie Eleison,” “The Alleluia,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” or “The Lamb Of God.” Stuff you hear at every Mass. The only two original songs on the CD are “Love Conquers,” and “Jesus.” These could be used as songs during Communion. In “Love Conquers” we are reminded that after receiving Jesus in the Eucharist we are different. We should leave Mass as new people who shine the love of Christ in all we do. “Jesus” is a love song for Christ about the awesomeness of His. The last track on the CD is Padgett’ s own message to fans about the making of the CD and why it was important to make. Padgett says about The Encounter, that we all, whether in the Body of Christ or out, need to hear and respond to this Good News!


The new CD called The Gossman Passion provides a truly unique experience. This is a musical rock opera on the Passion of Jesus Christ as told by singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan along with his friends and family. Garrigan was commissioned by the Newman Catholic Student Center Parish of Chapel Hill, NC to write something to honor their bishop, Bishop F. Joseph Gossman, in recognition for thirty years of service to the Diocese of Raleigh. The CD follows the Passion as told by the Gospel according to Matthew. The lyrics are taken nearly verbatim from the New American Bible. The Scriptural narration is done beautifully by Kate Gallagher. Her voice is crisp and clear as she reads along to the music. Garrigan himself plays the role of Jesus. Garrigan's music is often described as "intelligent modern rock." His work is often compared to R.E.M., Toad the Wet Sprocket, and A Perfect Circle. If you are a collector of prayer CDs like the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet, you should also have a copy of The Gossman Passion.


After a few years of being absent from the Catholic music scene, Jeannie Pomanowski is back with a new EP CD called Prayer Warrior The CD is very well-produced, and Pomanowski still has the “attitude” that she had with her last CD. Her style, while diverse, sounds almost like the Cranberries with a little more screaming guitars thrown in. The CD starts off with the title track “Prayer Warrior,” a song about praying for each other in time of need. Together we can storm heaven with prayers and get a little help from above. Taking on the controversial theme of creationism, Pomanowski sings the song “God’s Creation.” It’s a pop tune with a country flair about knowing that God created all the natural beauty around us in His own way. “On Holy Ground” reveals the softer side of the CD and features powerful accompaniment. “Choices” really shows Pomanowski’s diverse style as she shares the mic with Shane Ittenbach. She sings about the need to pray about the choices we make, while Ittenbach does a rap in the middle of the tune, tieing up any loose ends about praying. Staying in the funk, Pomanowski pulls out an old Hymn called “They’ll Know We Are Christians.” A wise man once asked me, “If being a Christian was illegal, would they have enough evidence to convict you?” If they found my copy of Jeannie Pomanowski’s Prayer Warrior I think they would.

 

--Jeff Burson