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Here In America Review

This CD/DVD set is a collection of rare, mostly live, moments from Rich Mullins that any of his fans will be thrilled to have.

The first disc is a CD that collects many fun moments from his concerts. Most of the recordings are from 1987 and include Rich introducing some of his early hits. One of the highlights is listening to Rich teach an audience to sing "Awesome God." The biggest disappointment here is that he doesn't actually sing it. Other highlights include "Verge of a Miracle" and "Be With You." Also included are some demos of songs that were never released as well as the title song.

The second disc is a DVD and is broken into two parts. The first is an hour long concert that Rich gave in March of 1997 that features many of the songs he was famous for. While its lots of fun watching him and the Ragamuffins perform, I really wish they hadn't cut away so much during "Screen Door." Unfortunately, Rich doesn't talk nearly as much as I'd hoped in this section. The second part features comments on various subjects from a series of Q&A times in 1993. There's some interesting stuff here that will make you stop and think. Plus you get to see a few shots of Beaker.

The biggest drawback to this collection is that it doesn't hold up to repeat listening/viewing. You can only hear these stories so many times before you're ready to move on. This will never replace my other CD's, but it does help provide a bigger picture of Rich.

Fans will enjoy this CD for a chance to see the man behind their favorite songs, even if it doesn't get the play his other CD's do. If you're just discovering Rich's music, I suggest you start with SONGS. Once you've discovered his music, you'll get so much more out of this set.

Review by: Mark Baker, Amazon.com