It is customary at the end of each calendar year for us writer types who enjoy discussing artistic endeavors to compile “best of” lists, a practice I’ve always found to be on the pretentious side. It is far more appropriate, modest, and honest to say favorites. With that in mind, I’d like to talk about my favorite album of 2024 … which originally came out in 1996 but was finally remastered and rereleased this year. The band is The Choir, and the album is ”Free Flying Soul,“ a balm for the soul and a treat for the ears.
MORE: Cephas Hour Sunday Spotlight: The Choir
The Choir has long been Christian rock’s purposeful outliers, forever in the scene but never of it. Derri Daugherty’s sculpted sonic treatment guitar washes and plaintive vocals, Steve Hindalong’s percussion-first approach to drumming, and Dan Michael’s mix of natural and synthesized woodwinds have long made a perfect backdrop for Hindalong’s lyrical muse probing the inherent paradoxes of contemplating the eternal while navigating the temporal. Also warranting mention is the late Tim Chandler’s inventive melodic bass, which was an integral part of The Choir’s sonic pallet for years.
The 1990s found The Choir at their most experimental sonically and, somewhat paradoxically, their most successful, at least in terms of industry recognition. ”Free Flying Soul“ won a Dove Award, the Christian music industry’s equivalent of the Grammys. The sardonic truism regarding blind squirrels and locating nuts suggests itself.
”Free Flying Soul“ kicks off with the gently chiming ”Salamander,“ which is a subject matter seldom mentioned in music period, let alone Christian rock. Hindalong makes it make sense, using the seldom-thought-of creature as an allegory for humanity making the best of its abilities while acknowledging its utter reliance on the Divine.
Climb on up now
From the slippery dark
Rest your belly on a sunny rockHey, isn’t the light okay?
Isn’t the day all right?
Well, what if your head won’t raise to the sun?
Catch the rain on your tongueSet your eyes on truth
Surrender your spirit to the wind
Set your heart free
Darkness commonly lives next door to light, and the album’s next song, ”Polar Boy,“ chillingly (no pun intended) illustrates this truth.
He does deserve to swing
He surely should be swinging from a noose
Now he’s speeding through the school zone
Liquored up and loose
Likely to flip and burn in a fire
Polar Boy is swallowing fire
“Gentle Jesus meek and mild” this is not, for which I have no doubt our Savior is quite thankful.
A theme Hindalong often touches upon, superbly brought to life by Daugherty’s masterful gift for tone poem-styled contemplation, is humanity’s often fragile relationship with itself and others when seen in the light of Jesus’ love for us. ”If You’re Listening“ drives this home with a velvet hammer.
Grace is a gift even more refined than magic dust
Mercy a quality more divine than trustIf you’re listening to this song
I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me
Every wrong
This point is firmly amplified in ”The Chicken.“
Yes, I could swear it
I will not betray another friend
I’ve found true love and I’ve lost an eye
And I might promise never to hurt you again
Cross my contrite heart, hope to dieBut you won’t believe it ’cause it ain’t true
You won’t believe it ’cause it ain’t true
Rivers flowing through your precious body blue
Trickle crimson when the chicken claws you
”Free Flying Soul“ is not for everyone, even as The Choir is not for everyone. The music and lyrics both follow their muse, more than occasionally paying little attention to the beaten path in favor of making their own wherever it may lead. But it is a true blessing for the searching heart and mind connected to ears that enjoy a challenge.
The remastered album is available while supplies last on vinyl and CD from the band’s website. While there, definitely treat yourself by picking up the band’s new album ”Translucent,“ a superb exercise in contemplative instrumental excellence that simultaneously sharpens the mind while soothing the soul.
