Music Review: Mosiac

This past fall, I read a little snippet about Ricky Skaggs' new album, "Mosiac" in World magazine. The album was given a very good review, so I hunted around on the internet and found that NPR's "Fresh Air" program had also given the album a favorable review as did many others.

I ordered the album for Matt as a Christmas present, but I guess I should have just given it to myself, because I've been hogging it (it's in the CD player of the car I drive) ever since Matt opened it. The more and more I listen to the album, the more amazed I am.

I find most modern Christian music unappealing. It either sounds like an imitation of the world's music (i.e.--hard rock, can't understand the words) or it's just plain bad music (i.e.--synthesizers, not real musicians). I know, I'm picky. Blame it on my dad and the thorough music education he gave me in my growing up years (from Bach to the Beatles to bluegrass).

Ricky Skaggs is probably most known for his bluegrass music, but "Mosiac" is not a bluegrass album. Mr. Skaggs calls it a Gospel album. In my listening, I've been really impressed with the different musical genres the album covers, yet the album itself is a cohesive unit.

My favorite songs on the album are "You Can't Shake Jesus," (probably the most bluegrassy of the collection) and "Return to Sender." I also like the song "Fire From the Sky" which tells my favorite Old Testament story of the prophets of Baal going up against Elijah and The Living God (1 Kings 18:17-40).

In my current sleep deprived state, I've found it difficult to concentrate enough to read the good books I received for Christmas and my birthday, but I have been able to enjoy listening to music and "Mosiac" has ministered to me greatly in the past six weeks. Mr. Skaggs wrote the following about the album:

"I really thought we were going into the studio to work on a CD, but what happened was this CD started working on us. Every day there was a visitation of God’s presence that was so obvious…. My prayer for this CD is that at the end of the day, these songs would cause people to know the love of God. That He’s not mad at us, but that He has a passionate love for us that we can’t understand. Really. I can’t cause anyone to believe, it’s not my job, but it’s a total work of The Holy Spirit….A Work Of Love!"

You can listen to a clip of Mr. Skaggs talking about his new album here.