Tag Archives: Chase the Kangaroo album

The Crossover Connection Week 38: Soft Rock That’s Somewhere Between Boston and Foreigner

The attached You Tube was a cassette that remained in my Walkman for months at a time in college. When my parents first moved to Ohio during my sophomore year of college, the Wide-Eyed Wonder album by the Choir was playing as I went running to explore nearby neighborhoods. Since the lead singer has a distinct sound, it’s hard to determine an identical match to famous secular artists.

O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His doings among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His marvelous deeds and devoutly praise them. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek and require the Lord [as their indispensable necessity], Psalm 105:1-3.

What drew me to the Choir was their moving ballads like the ones I played over and over in high school by Boston and Foreigner. While the Choir may not wow you like Amanda by Boston and Hot Blooded from Foreigner, the positive lyrics will leave you snapping your fingers and tapping your toes. In their Chase the Kangaroo album, the Choir released two of their best rock songs in Consider and Cain. Meanwhile, the Choir slows it down with hit ballads Sad Face and So Far Away. I hope you enjoy listening to the attached You Tubes this week.

by Jay Mankus

Brought to Tears

 

From time to time, even the stoic have moments where they can’t hold back their tears.  Depending upon how you were raised as a child, you are either less or more likely to cry based upon the principles instilled within you by parents.  However, when confronted by the past, death or disappointment, any of these elements of pain can trigger the flood gates to open.

I tend to go through arid periods, numb to the emotions deep inside my soul.   Although, I do experience an annual rainy season, when the lyrics to a song, a touching scene or I am moved by a conservation, unleashing a steady flow of tear drops.  May be this is why the Holy Spirit inspired Solomon to say “a sad face is good for the heart” within Ecclesiastes, made famous by the Choir’s 1988 song from their Chase the Kangaroo album.

This is where we find Joseph, son of Israel in Genesis 45:1-2.  Moved by Judah’s plea,  suggesting that coming home without Benjamin, the youngest boy in the family, will likely result in the death of his father, Genesis 44:18-34.  Afraid that his childish act of toying with his brothers out of vengeance will cause his own father to die of a broken heart, Joseph finally relents.  Possibly holding a grudge, mistreated by them 20 years earlier, wailing aloud serves as a source of healing.  Once he composes himself, Joseph conveys God’s plan to his brothers in Genesis 45:3-8, brought to tears by God’s providence.

by Jay Mankus