When my oldest sister Kathie got her first new stereo, I received her hand me down one. She left me two vinyl records and one eight track tape. Since the eight-track player didn’t always work, I was left with two listening options as I went to sleep each night: Neil Diamond and the Beatles. While Diamond provided a nice change of pace, most nights ended with Here Comes the Sun, the Abbey Road full album. Subsequently, as I expanded my Christian music collection in college, I was searching for something similar to the Beatles.
And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. Elijah said, Go again seven times. 44 And at the seventh time the servant said, A cloud as small as a man’s hand is arising out of the sea. And Elijah said, Go up, say to Ahab, Hitch your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you. 45 In a little while, the heavens were black with wind-swept clouds, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went to Jezreel, 1 Kings 18:41-45.
This search would last five years when I stumbled upon Pray For Rain who eventually was forced to shorten their name to PFR due to a legal battle over the rights of Pray for Rain. Nonetheless, when the Great Lengths album was released in 1994, this was the sound I was waiting to hear. Based upon the melody of several songs on this album, you can tell that some if not all members of PFR were influenced by the Beatles music. While PFR’s other albums may be a little too poppy for me, if you’re a Beatles fan, you’ll enjoy the attached You Tube.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 