Love Songs and Prayers: A Retrospective

Love Songs and Prayers: A Retrospective is the first compilation album from Christian alternative rock band The Choir, released in 1995.

Love Songs and Prayers:
A Retrospective
Compilation album by
The Choir
ReleasedNovember 13, 1995
RecordedVarious
GenreChristian alternative rock
Length72:56
LabelMyrrh / Epic
Producer
The Choir chronology
Speckled Bird
(1994)		 Love Songs and Prayers:
A Retrospective
(1995)		 Free Flying Soul
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Recording history

The Choir was initially concerned when Myrrh Records announced their intention of doing a "best of" record, but the band's fears were allayed when Myrrh allowed them the freedom to choose the songs themselves. The title Love Songs and Prayers was suggested by saxophonist Dan Michaels, who had heard drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong use the term to describe The Choir's music in an interview. The term then guided the band in which songs to select for the compilation, which makes it the first best-of record in Christian music—if not music in general—that also qualifies as a concept album.

Although released by Myrrh, the record is a comprehensive single-disc look at the band's career, as it includes songs from all their albums, including their Broken, Shadow and Glasshouse releases, presented in chronological order. Because of the band's general dislike of best-of records, which are often a lazy collection of previously released tracks, The Choir made an effort to include unreleased or remixed versions of their music. To that end, an early recording of "A Million Years" had to be mastered from the 45 rpm single, when the original studio recording couldn't be found. This is not entirely unprecedented, as The Blue Nile—a band to which The Choir acknowledges an influence—had to do the same thing with their first single, "I Love This Life", when it was recently released on CD. To close out the album, The Choir includes a brief snippet of a live performance, recorded many months prior to the release of their debut album, Voices in Shadows.

The CD was not released in a traditional jewel case, but in cardboard gatefold packaging. The woman featured in the underwater photographs is art director Christy Coxe.

Track listing

All lyrics by Steve Hindalong. All music by Derri Daugherty, unless otherwise noted.

  1. "A Million Years" (unreleased version) – 3:31
  2. "All Night Long" (unreleased version) – 5:19
  3. "Render Love" (music by Charlie Peacock) – 4:12
  4. "Black Cloud" (music by Peacock) – 3:40
  5. "Consider" (music by Daugherty, Tim Chandler) – 4:06
  6. "Sad Face" (music by Daugherty, Chandler) – 4:52
  7. "So Far Away" – 4:50
  8. "Clouds" – (music by Daugherty and Steve Griffith) – 6:04
  9. "To Bid Farewell" – 4:37
  10. "Car, Etc." (unreleased special radio mix) (music by Daugherty, Chandler) – 4:33
  11. "Merciful Eyes" – 4:55
  12. "Restore My Soul" – 6:34
  13. "A Sentimental Song" – 5:01
  14. "Like a Cloud" – 2:06
  15. "Gripped" – 4:21
  16. "Grace" – 3:07
  17. "Live: Postlude" (unreleased live performance) – 1:08

Personnel

The Choir

Additional musicians

  • Robin Spurs – bass guitar, vocals ("To Bid Farewell", "Car, Etc.")
  • Mike Sauerbrey – bass guitar ("A Million Years", "All Night Long", "Restore My Soul")
  • Bill Batstone – guitar, bass guitar ("Render Love", "Black Cloud")
  • Mark Heard – background vocals ("About Love")
  • Jerry Chamberlain – background vocals ("Merciful Eyes")
  • Sharon McCall – background vocals ("A Sentimental Song")

Production

  • Ken Love – digital editing and mastering
  • Christy Coxe – art direction
  • Norma Jean Roy – photography
  • Astrid Herbold – design

References
  1. Love Songs and Prayers: A Retrospective at AllMusic
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