I have to disclose ahead of time that my opinion is unavoidably
biased, because I helped in a small way to contribute to the album’s
creation. When I heard that John
Elefante was soliciting online donations through Kickstarter to help fund his
new record, I mentioned to my wife that I wanted to make a contribution. She said, “Isn’t he the guy who did that
song about finding God on Route 39?”
“Uh, yeah,” I replied. “Actually, it was Exit 39.”
So I made a donation.
It wasn’t a lot, just enough to qualify for the advance digital copy of
the album, which I received about a week ahead of the official release. In terms of production funding, my
contribution was the equivalent of buying a couple of sandwiches for the
musicians to munch on while they took a break from playing.
Well, that sandwich must have done some good, because the
album sounds great!
On My Way To the Sun is John Elefante’s follow up to 2009’s
Revolution of Mind. Unlike that
project, which was actually a reunion album for John’s late 80s Christian metal
band, Mastedon, this album features a different line-up of musicians. Many of the songs rock just as hard as on
the previous record, but it skews slightly toward the modern rock sound in
places, instead of the more predictable melodic hard rock of Mastedon. At first I was a bit disappointed, because I
was hoping for another Mastedon project, or perhaps another album like 2000’s
Defying Gravity. However, I eventually realized that certain songs on this
album, especially one in particular, more than make up for any variation in
musical style, and deep down this album is about the message, not so much the
music.
The opening track, “This is How the Story Goes” starts off
the album with some great layered harmony vocals. John Elefante has always been good at self-harmonizing on
overdubs, and this is the best example yet.
In my opinion he ranks right up there with greats like Brad Delp and
Freddie Mercury in vocal multi-tracking, except John has the added advantage of
not being dead :)
This song is also one the most “Kansas” sounding of John’s
work to date, and along with “One Day Down By The Lake” from the previous
album, shows that John wisely knows where a lot of his fan base comes from,
which are the diehard Kansas fans like myself.
The instrumental portions of the song are an excellent imitation of Kerry
Livgren’s progressive rock style, to the point where you can almost close your
eyes and pretend you are listening to an outtake from Vinyl Confessions. This illusion is heightened by the fact that
John actually hired current Kansas guitarist Rich Williams and violinist David
Ragsdale to play on this song. The
vocal melody, however, is unmistakably John Elefante’s own style, giving the
song a sort of hybrid quality. The message
in the lyrics is also very inspiring, about finding life and redemption in
Christ in the face of sickness and death.
The next song, “Where have the Old Days Gone” is a heavier,
more modern-rock sounding tune that conveys a simple message about the
innocence society has lost, and bringing back the Christian values that are
lacking in this day and age.
The title track to the album follows, with an upbeat, catchy
melody and infectious vocal and guitar harmonies that complement the lyrics
well. The themes explored in this song are somewhat reminiscent of “Exit 39”
from Defying Gravity, but here this song deals more directly with
the idea of receiving the satisfaction and peace in life that can only come
from God, and not from worldly achievements.
“All I Have to Do” is another heavy modern rock song, rich
in metaphors and elements of poetic stream-of-thought dealing with the
confusion and constant change of living in the last days. This is followed up by “The Awakening”,
which features more great vocal harmonies and a memorable chorus, and paints a
picture of the joy and beauty that await Christ’s people at the time of His
coming, and the need for all nations to believe and prepare before it is too
late.
Just when you think the harmonies and choruses can’t get any
catchier, “Half the Way Home” comes in, with a toe-tapping beat and guitar riff
that propel the tune along. The lyrics work well with the music to remind the
listener of the speed at which life moves, and the need to live a
Christ-centered life and make the best of the time we are given without regrets
and without looking back.
Things relax a bit with “We All Fall Short”, which makes
good use of strings and a more acoustic arrangement, before picking up again
with the steady mid-tempo rock sound of “Don’t Hide Away”. Both songs touch on the theme of letting
your light shine and standing strong against the world instead of sitting on
the fence.
And now we come to the big one, “This Time”. You need to hear this song, and you need to
see the video. (I’m providing the YouTube link at the end of this article.) And once you’ve seen the video, you need to
share it. John Elefante goes out on a
limb with this song to tell a very personal story: about how his adopted
daughter’s life was saved because her birth mother changed her mind and decided
not to abort. This is a very emotional story that really struck a chord with me because I have three [2017 update: make that five] small
children of my own, and I can’t imagine life without any of them. I also personally know several couples that
are heartbroken because they have been unable to have children of their own, or
have lost a baby. Yet they have to jump
through hoops and play the waiting game and go to great expense for the chance
to adopt a child.
People in the media are calling “This Time” ‘controversial’
and ‘provocative’, as if there was something wrong with advocating the idea of
choosing to put a baby up for adoption instead of aborting her. There are no sign-waving protesters in this
song, no grisly imagery or genocidal metaphors, no political buzzwords or
angry slogans. Just a pregnant young
woman who listens when the Lord says, “You’re not taking her, this time.” So why is this song sparking such a
firestorm of opposition and contention?
I think the reason is because it exposes Satan’s lies
about “choice”. Satan’s idea of
“choice” is being able to do anything you want, except for what is right! And when somebody actually chooses what is
right, it makes the wicked upset because it exposes the lies, and the truth
cuts them right to the heart. Satan’s
path only leads to captivity, and ultimately spiritual death, by promoting only
choices that take away the opportunity to do what is right in the future. But choosing God’s plan grants us more
freedom, to make more choices that lead to liberty and eternal life. (See Galatians 5:1 and Deuteronomy 30:15. For the Latter-Day-Saint reference on this, see 1
Nephi 16:2 and 2 Nephi 2:25-27)
The story told in “This Time” is a powerful example of what
happens when someone makes the right choice and listens to the Lord—in this
case a whole lifetime of opportunity and potential happiness was granted to a
baby and to the loving parents who adopted her. Hopefully with God’s help through people like you and me, as many
people as possible will hear this song and make the right choices to save
innocent lives.
The album concludes with “Confess”, a tune that had been
left off of John’s previous record and then updated for this release. This song is a relaxed easy-listener with a
simple, no frills evangelical message of praising and accepting Christ. After
the emotionally taxing subject matter of “This Time”, “Confess” is a welcome
break and a fitting end to the album.
All in all, On My Way to the Sun is an excellent album, with
impeccable production and memorable, catchy and listenable songs. While some of us fans may have initially
hoped for a repeat of the previous record, what we got instead was something
fresh, new, and powerful. This album
serves as a reminder that when it comes to inspirational Christian music,
sometimes God gives us what we need to hear instead of what we want to hear, and
the world will be a better place because of it.
