Stephen Curtis Chapman Lyrics

Steven Curtis Chapman Recreates Hits on New Album

Good songs are like good friends, and just as relationships change and deepen over time, an artist's perspective on their hits becomes different years into a successful career. That realization inspired Steven Curtis Chapman 's approach to his new album 're:creation,' a 14-song collection that features five new songs, a cover version of the '70s Cat Stevens classic 'Morning Has Broken' and eight newly-recorded versions of the veteran singer/songwriter's best-loved hits. During that journey, the musician has experienced both mountaintops and valleys. Since debuting in 1987, the boyish songwriter from Paducah, Ky., has become the Gospel Music Association's most awarded artist with an unprecedented 56 Dove awards to his credit. He's also won five Grammys, an American Music award and earned two platinum and eight gold albums. Steven's personal life seemed even more blessed. He married his college sweetheart, Mary Beth, and had three children, Emily, Caleb and Will Franklin, before adopting three beautiful daughters from China, Shaohannah, Stevey Joy and Maria Sue. However, on May 21, 2008, his world was shattered when his youngest daughter, Maria Sue, was accidentally killed in the family's driveway, struck by an SUV driven by his teenage son Will. "Three years ago when Maria Sue went to heaven, all of my songs took on a much, much deeper meaning," says Steven, known for such hits as 'The Great Adventure,' 'For the Sake of the Call,' 'More to This Life' and 'Heaven in the Real World.' "I found myself singing these songs with a different passion and different purpose. I wanted to re-invent them in a way that really represents what they mean to me now ... 'The Great Adventure' meant something to me when I wrote it and I had some understanding of it, but there's so much more now that that song means." He admits there was a time when he couldn't imagine ever singing again, especially such upbeat songs as 'The Great Adventure,' 'Dive' or 'Live Out Loud.

re:creation / The Christian Manifesto

RATING: 3 OUT OF 5

Steven Curtis Chapman is a mainstay in Christian music. The last few years of his life have certainly been tumultuous and while many of us would not have faulted him for quitting the music business altogether, Chapman turned his pain into something beautiful. A couple years later, he is back with a batch of 6 new songs and 8 “recreated” renditions of some of his most popular hits from yesteryear. The verdict? Well, it’s a mixed bag of wonderful and just “eh.”

New songs “Do Everything” and “Long Way Home” kick things off and are both solid offerings from the veteran musician. If you liked Speechless , then these tracks will be just the ticket.

Next up are “The Great Adventure” and “Dive (Deeper).” While the former is still close enough to the original to know what the song is before Chapman’s vocal rise to the fore, the latter opens and continues forward in such a fashion that I couldn’t have foreseen. Much more low-key than the original version, Chapman utilizes more strings and adds flutes to this rendition and creates something beautiful. Truth be told, “Dive” is a track that I’ve been known to skip in the past. If this had been the original, I might not have skipped it as often.

“All That’s Left” is decent, but the music doesn’t fit the lyrics. It’s a bit too upbeat for such contemplative lyrics.

“Speechless” is another rendition that was beautiful in its original form, yet Chapman strips it a bit, polishes it up, and we have something familiar but unfamiliar. I always thought this song would have worked a little better with less instrumentation and that’s what Chapman does here.

“Live Out Loud” has always been a song that I’ve hated. It always one of those songs that seemed cheesy and campy. Apparently, no amount of re-tooling of added “hand claps” can change that fact for me. Conversely, “For The Sake of the Call” has always been one of my favorite SCC songs. This acoustic, cello-laden interpretation of the song only serves to enhance its place in my life. The message is still timeless and challenging.