November 2008 Reviews Music

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Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer
by Jon Foreman
Credential Rec.
$14.99, $18.98

When Switchfoot left CCM label Sparrow and signed with Columbia Records in 2003, they became one of the hottest pop-rock acts in mainstream music. Some wondered why they had "abandoned" their roots, playing solely secular venues and singing songs decidedly lacking in JPMs (Jesuses Per Minute).

But the band—and the brains behind it, singer-songwriter Jon Foreman—hadn't jumped ship at all. They were simply playing the songs born in Foreman's inquisitive mind: "I'm interested in reading philosophy and trying to figure things out," he says.

Foreman apparently had more of those songs up his sleeve, judging by the recent release of four solo EPs—six songs each—under the titles Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer (4 stars for the set). The music is stark and spare, rough and unpolished. Foreman and his guitar are everywhere, but it's the creative inclusion of other instruments—trumpets, harmonica, tuba, even a Chinese guzheng—that give the music its most noteworthy twists. This is not Switchfoot-lite; this is free-association Foreman unfolding in a blend of the Socratic and the spiritual.

On Fall's "Lord, Save Me from Myself," he rasps: "My mind is dull and faded / From these years of buy and sell / My eyes have seen the glory / Of this hollow modern shell / And sex is a grand production / But I'm bored with that as well / Ah, Lord, save me from myself." One Winter track is titled "Learning How to Die," while another ("Somebody's Baby") explores the lonely death of a homeless girl.

But it's not all bleak; there's much faith, hope, and love. Winter's "White as Snow" is a beautiful adaptation of Psalm 51. Spring's "Your Love Is Strong" begins with the Lord's Prayer and ends with Christ's reassurances: "I walk to the meadow and stare at the flowers / Better dressed than any girl on her wedding day / So why should I worry? / Why do I freak out? / God knows what I need!" Summer's "House of God Forever" is a powerful, prayerful rendition of the 23rd Psalm. These discs represent Foreman at his creative best as he asks more questions about the human condition—and finds more answers at the foot of the Cross.

(Note: Ten songs from these EPs, plus two new ones, were recently compiled into a single disc, Limbs and Branches.)

Mark Moring, editor, CT Movies

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer can be purchased at Amazon.com and other retailers.

Go to Jon Foreman's website for more information about his albums.

Christian Music Today also reviewed Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Christianity Today also has other music reviews.

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