After two successful albums released by Sparrow; in 1979 (before the release of 1980's "So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt"), Contemporary Christian Music artist Keith Green had decided to strike out on his own in a big way, starting his own label (called Pretty Good Records) as part of his ministry, Last Days Ministries, and changing his policy to refusing to charge for concerts or albums, offering his albums for whatever the person requesting the album could afford (resulting in many free albums; while when his music was carried in Christian bookstores, there would be two cassettes made available so the buyer could give away a copy {not sure if this also applied to vinyl}). Following the release of a compilation album in 1981; Green began work on this album.
Musically; Green - whose early albums contained a piano-dominant sound similar to Elton John - apparently decided to mix things up a bit; mixing his ballad-heavy album with more of a praise and worship emphasis than was seen in his previous work while also throwing in some different stylistic influences.
Sadly; tragedy would strike just over three months after the album's release when - on July 28, 1982 - Keith Green; along with 11 others, were killed in a plane crash when the small plane Last Days Ministries was leasing crashed just after takeoff for a planned tour of the LDM property. An investigation by the NTSB ruled pilot error was the main cause in that the plane was severely overloaded (the plane, a Cessna 414, only has 7 seats) and the pilot also failing to calculate weight and balance relative to design parameters. Making the crash even more tragic was that two of Keith and Melody Green's children, Josiah (age 3; the Green's eldest child and only son) and Bethany (age 2) were also killed in the crash, leaving Melody widowed with infant daughter Rebekah Joy Green and 6 weeks pregnant with another daughter (who was fittingly named Rachel Hope when Melody gave birth in March 1983; eight months after the crash)
TRACKLIST (with the exceptions of "There is a Redeemer" and the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy"; Keith was involved in writing all of the songs)
1. The Lord is My Shepherd
2. You Are the One (this song would also appear in the 1992 "No Compromise: Remembering the Music of Keith Green" album, recorded there by Rich Mullins - who would also lose his life in a 1997 car accident; while a version by alternative rock group Cadet appeared in a 2000 tribute album titled "Start Right Here: Remembering the Life of Keith Green")
3. How Majestic is Thy Name (Psalm 8) (this one got some radio attention; though how much is unclear. This song turned up on still another tribute album, 2002's "Your Love Broke Through: The Worship Songs of Keith Green" {focusing on his more worship-oriented material}; this time sung by longtime Hillsong worship leader Darlene Zschech)
4. Draw Me (this is one of the songs where it seems Keith was trying out different styles, experimenting here with a country sound)
5. Glory Lord Jesus
6. There is a Redeemer (this one penned entirely by Melody Green)
7. The Promise Song (experimenting with a calypso-like sound)
8. Until That Final Day
9. Jesus is Lord of All
10. O God Our Lord (the last of the "trying out different sounds" tracks; with Keith experimenting with a sound close to Hall & Oates)
11. I Will Give Thanks to the Lord
12. Holy, Holy, Holy
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