John Elefante: On My Way To The Sun

The subject of this post is the new John Elefante album, On My Way To the Sun, which was released earlier this year.  Readers may recall that a few years back I previously reviewed one of John’s older albums from the 90s, in keeping with the “retro” theme of my blog.  But this new record carries such an important message that I feel it deserves as much attention as it can get as soon as possible. So with this in mind, I’m adding my review to the pile, as a Latter-Day-Saint who likes Christian rock.

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.