I feel like I’ve been listening to Steven Curtis Chapman my whole life. No I’m not that old, but neither is he. Steven Curtis Chapman has been recording music for years and the loss of his daughter put a pause on his life. How could it not? More than 3 years have passed since his horrific loss. Maria his daughter, was killed in a tragic accident. Since then Steven has sensed people waiting to see how he and his family were faring in the wake of the tragedy and what the next step in his musical evolution would be.
Chapman goes on to say,
“I felt like this was an opportunity for me to tell people that my family and I really do feel like God is recreating some things in us. Last year was so hard with Mary Beth writing her book and our family doing the tour. It was our year to say, ‘okay we’re going to stand on faith and hold onto each other.’ That’s when the full force of the pain started to hit us. But now, in 2011, by God’s grace we really have the sense we are beginning to see the sunrise. As the song says, ‘joy is coming in the morning!’ We feel like morning is really starting to break for us and we’re beginning to sense there is new life starting to sprout. The real morning is still yet to come when we finally get to see Maria again in heaven, but as a family and individually we’re beginning to feel like there’s oxygen coming back into our lungs. My wife talks about it in terms of being in a forest for the last several years; in a very dense, dark forest. It’s only been recently that we started to feel like God is standing on the edge of that forest saying, ‘I want to bring you out of the forest, and your daughter is ahead of you. She’s a greater part of your future than she is of your past. And I’m leading you out, I’m leading you into this new place.’ It’s a new beginning for us and I really felt like I wanted to say that.”
Re Creation is more than just a remix CD, there are a few original songs too. For me, there is something to knowing the words to the songs you love and hearing them in a new light is fun and refreshing. That’s what I love most about Re Creation. Re Creation is inspired by his loss and moving forward with life. The other aspect to the meaning behind re:creation’s title is the opportunity Chapman has taken to re-imagine and completely re-record such classics as “Live Out Loud,” “For the Sake of the Call,” “The Great Adventure,” “Speechless,” and “Heaven in the Real World.” I love his music, new and old, re-created and classic.
With 14 tracks, Re Creation will delight and relax you. From upbeat to mellow, I found each song uplifting. I felt that most of the re makes were slower than the originals so I think it’s much more meditative than the kind of music you would dance to. I could just sit there and enjoy myself as I was taken away by Re Creation.
Re Creation Track Listing:
Do Something
Long Way Home
Live Out Loud
Great Adventure
Heaven In The Real World
Speechless
For The Sake Of The Call
Magnificent Obsession
Meant To Be
More To This Life
All That’s Left Is To Love
Morning Has Broken
Dive
I received a copy of the digital soundtrack and was compensated for my time. My opinions are my own.