This is a guitar duet performed by yours truly and my older brother. We recorded this at Bob Jones University circa 1996. (Feel free to critique 🙂 )
The slideshow pictures are of the island we called home for 12 years.
49 thoughts on “GOH: Are You Washed In The Blood?”
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First? Can it be?
Indeed. ‘Tis.
Lovely photos, btw.
It’s a lovely place.
Haven’t heard this grand ol’ hymn in a while. It is a lovely thought to be “washed and cleansed in the blood”. Of course, growing up it meant that if my “garments were spotless and white as snow” then I need to make sure that I am right with God.
There are some hymns that truly are wonderful but are hard for some of us to hear outside of all the IFB interpretations that were given them.
Not doubting you, but I have never heard of anyone interpreting that phrase to imply anything other than atonement. What other songs would an IFB misinterpret?
I think any song that talks about striving to please Him. I do want to please Him, but now I want to focus on being in Christ and Christ has pleased the Father. I am forgiven, accepted, and beloved.
Any songs about freedom now have WAY deeper meaning for me too. It’s not just “freedom not to sin” but real Christian liberty.
2nd!
Man, I was too busy reading all the comments from the last post, I could have been a contender!
What a beautiful place.
Grenada?
Yes.
Were you guys there for the big invasions? 🙂
It was before our time.
That’s a LOVELY rendition. But then I’m a sucker for acoustic guitar music, so I’m biased. 😉
You grew up in Grenada? I’ve been on St. Vincent and grew up on Montserrat in the Leeward Islands. Cool.
Those of us who grew up in church probably don’t realize how bizarre some of our Christian “catch phrases” sound to people who have never heard them before. I mean, “washed in the blood??” EWWWW!! Sounds super gross if you have no idea what it’s referring to, and even then I’m sure it sounds pretty weird at first.
Christianese, No wonder we are losing the world. 🙁
.it’s biblical language–not just christianese
When I converted , I found it strange indeed, but ti was a good way to introduce me to bible truths quickly–music is good for that
Lovely music, Darrell!
I just found one of your tapes in my sewing machine case of all places!
That was a very nice arrangement. Although, as a former music checker, I can tell you that it would have created some flak because of the rhythmic freedom (which I really like). 😈
Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me! I didn’t even hear upstrum! What could the dear Bobby J take offense with? I’m really curious actually. Secondhand Serenade would definitely be pushing it rhythm wise, not to mention words, but what’s going on in this? Seriously. I’m really interested. No sarcasm….
Oh, yeah. It’s those places where the lead guitar punches in on the beat just a tad early. You can hear it most times where the words would be “blood of the Lamb” Listen at :20, :38, :50, 1:12, 1:23, and 1:28 for a few places where you can hear the evil syncopation. If you dare. Mind you, that could be a slippery slope.
Really pretty scenery but the breakbeats and backbeats were distracting. Really made “the body want to dance.”
Hey Darrell, from a fellow surviving Caribbean-born & raised MK, thanks. Those pictures are nice. I’m might have to put together a video like this with pics from my island, maybe with brother Tony Mel’s help…hey Tony, ¿dónde estás?
Gratuitous key changes are so early 90’s
LOL. 🙂
beautiful music
beautiful pictures
beautiful song
beautiful post
thank you Darrell, this was a blessing
I enjoyed it 🙂
I loved it, of course guitar is my favorite instrument.
Well done Darrell and David Dow. Enjoyed the pictures, too. How many kids in your birth family? All “Ds 😀 ?”
7. And only 2 D’s. 🙂
I feel relieved. Thank you.
SWEET! Especially the daring syncopation! Now, I have questions.
Did you happen to be at BJU when Christopher Parkening performed there? (His “Virtuoso Duets” album is great.)
Very full bass in those guitars. Who made them?
Will you treat us to more of this in the future? Please?!
I got to see Parkening at PCC. Since then I’ve also added people like David Russel and Xuefei Yang to my “seen in person” list. I greatly enjoy live guitar performances.
I think the one guitar is a Yamaha and the other is an Alvarez. Neither are particularly high-end. The bass boost was courtesy of some great recording equipment.
I’ll have to see what other tracks I still have. These recording were put on cassette tape and the master CDs and DAT tapes have long since been lost in one of our many moves.
Ah yes, you went to PCC. Forgot.
I’ve seen Parkening several times, including with David Branon doing the duets. Lifetime memory: having lunch with CP at a master class not long after he had become a believer!
Check out Los Angeles Guitar Quartet live for an unforgettable concert!
I forget that you are too young for 8 trac. Unfortunatly, I’m not 🙁
The syncopation had to have been accidental. At least that’s the excuse you should try to get it approved.
I enjoyed that! But some of the rhythms might have encouraged my toe to tap and we can’t have that!
The pictures were gorgeous. The one near the end of the roundish little lake with trees all around it and with fog low over the trees looked very story-bookish. Then there was the beautiful beach shot – wow! And the end, the ubiquitous missionary sunset! 😉
So you asked for a critique….here it is. This is a tough song to pull off. Mainly because the chord structure is very basic which makes it hard to hold a listener’s ear. That’s not your fault, you didn’t write the song. But as far as song choice goes – “Washed in the Blood” is better utilized in congregational singing than performance – unless you re-harmonize it. Your abrupt decelerando into the rubato verse (i think it’s the 2nd) was a little of a surprise…it didn’t sound natural and rather forced. I understood what you were trying to do…but it came across as a mistake, rather than intended. In the last and final verse, your tempo is not consistent, it speeds up when every you have to play a passage that contains a lot of notes. And finally, you played everything at the same dynamic more or less. I’m not sure if you considered using different levels of dyanamics, if you did, they didn’t come through and you need to be more extreme with you softs and louds. Over all though, the enthusiasm of you playing came through. That is tough to communicate on a recording especially with a song that doesn’t lend itself to grandiose in any sort of way. Thanks for the listen. I enjoyed it.
Where were you 14 years ago when we recorded this and could have used this advice?? 🙂
I was getting ready to study music and a conservative christian college – Moody – not quite BJU – but you get the idea i’m sure 😛
PS. Check out Tommy Emmanuel on YouTube if you like acoustic guitar stuff
Tommy! I’m currently learning “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Sanitarium Shuffle”. Maybe I’ll play the latter for an offertory sometime…. 😯
Promise?
Ha! Caught me! I didn’t say where…
While we’re on the subject “Sanitarium Shuffle” might actually fit in a church service. Tommy wrote it while finding rest and refuge at a friend’s house (which he likened to a sanitarium) during a difficult time. Probably too many 7th chords for church, though…
Sigh. Separation from certain chords! When will it end?! And, I wasn’t saying WHERE you had to play Tommy’s piece. I would say to play it where people won’t scrutinize or count the 7th chords.
No worries. The 7ths go by too fast to count them anyway. But then there is that Bm7(#5)… 😉
Haven’t you ever heard that a minor 6th is the devil’s interval? And woe unto him that playeth the diminished 7th and doth not with haste resolve it! 🙄
I’ve been looking at some old SFL postings for nostalgia’s sake – I reaally miss this blog – and I L-O-V-E (in capital letters) this arrangement of the hymn. Well done, Darrell and David. Great photos too!