Fantastic Friday’s Feature: Andrew Peterson

I’ve decided to start something new on my blog. There are many people, books, and the like that I want to share with you, dear reader, but feel it’s not appropriate for my usual Monday post. So in addition to the aforementioned postings, I want to start featuring the many things that have made an impact on me in some way, shape or form. Thus, the Fantastic Friday Feature is born. And who better to start us off than that “Fool With a Fancy Guitar” Andrew Peterson?

Andrew Peterson is perhaps my favorite Christian musician. He is a masterful lyricist, wrapping words together that tell grand stories and evoke powerful emotions, music and poetry flowing together. Unfortunately, he isn’t as well know as some of the other artists on the air; but somehow, I don’t think that bothers him. His purpose isn’t to please the petty people who run radio stations, but to glorify Jesus Christ, writing songs that lead listeners deeper into Him. No matter how much I listen to his music, I never get tired of it; every time it feels fresh, new, and just as enjoyable as it was at first; perhaps even more.

I own four of his albums, which are not all of the songs he has written. I can only tell you about these four, then, but I imagine all his songs are as good as these. Andrew Peterson has also written some books, known as the Wingfeather Saga, which I have not read. If I do, and they are as I would expect, you, dear reader, may expect them to be featured.

These are the four albums I own:

Behold the Lamb of God, Counting Stars, The Far Country, Resurrection Letters Vol. II

Behold the Lamb of God: The True Tall Tale of the Coming Christ – The title was inspired by C.S. Lewis, who called Christianity a “True Myth”; meaning that all the stories, legends and tales Lewis had read before contained shards of truth; but this one, though like the legends in its epic grandeur, was actually true – that makes it the best Tale of all. This album is basically a journey through the Old Testament, speaking – sometimes loudly, sometimes softly – of a coming Savior, leading up to its culmination in the birth of Christ, Emmanuel: God with us. One of the best (and most fun) songs from this album is “Matthew’s Begats”, but this album truly needs to be listened from start to finish to truly appreciate it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u18qNpEE7k

Counting Stars – The songs on this album are ballads, containing some of the most beautiful pieces. The digital booklet which came with the album when I bought it on iTunes closes with what has become one of my favorite quotes: “There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach.” –J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings. This album also features the only song with a music video, “Dancing in the Minefields”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gs3fg_WsEg&ob=av2e  (Apologies for the channel this appears on; it’s the only version on Youtube, though)

Also, two more of my favorites, “In the Night” and “The Reckoning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ynV2Fm9Qpc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYyuD0EMqsA

The Far Country – The easiest way to describe this album is by saying it is the grander themes of Narnia and Middle-Earth put into song. My favorite songs on this album are “The Far Country” and “Little Boy Heart Alive”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcfj8A2-0g8

I cannot find a sample of “Little Boy Heart Alive”, which is most unfortunate for you, dear reader, for I own it and can enjoy it as much as I want. You’ll just have to trust me on it, or find it yourself.

Resurrection Letters, Vol II – He explains this album the best himself: “These songs are bound together by the theme of resurrection in our lives and in the world around us. It wasn’t until we were recording the album that I knew I wanted to tell a bigger story, and that this would be part two. Part one is Christ’s resurrection, which made a way for ours; it was the turning point in the Great Story. I’m currently working on the songs that will comprise Resurrection Letters, Vol. I. These many years of waiting will only be a sentence in the story. This long day will come to an end, and I believe it will end in glory, when we will shine like suns and stride the green hills with those we love and the One who loves. We will look with our new eyes and speak with our new tongues and turn to each other and say, “Do you remember the waiting? The long years, the bitter pain, the gnawing doubt, the relentless ache?” And like Mary at the tomb, we will say: “I remember only the light, and the voice calling my name, and the overwhelming joy that the waiting was finally over.”

“All Things New”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57tnsby_4kk

“Hosea”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBYw3-1KSoc

That’s Andrew Peterson. Ever since I discovered his music a year ago, I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I hope you shall as well.

Blessings.