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Deep Enough To Dream Review

Chris Rice's first CD is still my favorite, and they are ALL awesome, so that says something. He has a great, mellow, James Taylor-esque sound, plus some of the deepest and most honest lyrics in Christian music today. In trying to write songs myself and in listening to a lot of Christian music, I have found that it is difficult to write heartfelt Christian songs that are not cheesy...Chris Rice achieves this as well as anyone.

Rice never sugarcoats his faith, but addresses real issues like the frustration of messing up over and over again, feeling weak and helpless, and feeling burdened by pain and shame. Yet a loud note of grace rings throughout all of these struggles that he sings of.

My favorite songs on this album are "Deep Enough to Dream" (great guitar part; a hope-inspiring vision of heaven), "Welcome to Our World" (a beautiful Christmas song that reflects on the wonderful mystery of the incarnation...lines like "Tiny heart whose blood will save us"), "My Tree" (a song that infuenced me a lot as an often lovesick teenager...likens Christ's love for us to being in love as a young boy, yet he avoids cheapening Christ's love in the process), and "Hallelujahs" (which gives words and a melody to the often inexpressible feeling of being overwhelmed by God's majesty as expressed in His works on earth).

This CD gave me strength to get through my first year of college some years back, and I have used it as a gift to friends who are hurting many times. It also makes a good gift for non-Christians, since the message is expressed in such honest language, without being "in your face" or obtuse with the message. This is a fine, fine CD.

Review by: Darren Pollock, Amazon.com