Last spring, my son Joseph, who was then 11, and I were in Larry’s music store in Wooster. I don’t remember if we were just browsing, or if he needed strings or a cable for his electric guitar. In the guitar room a young man was playing, and he sounded pretty good. Joey walked over and listened for a while, then struck up a conversation. No, he was not from around here. Yes, he was in a band. He reached into the pocket of his coat. “Here is the latest thing I recorded”, he said, handing my son a CD. We thanked him and drove home.
When we arrived Joey put the CD in the player. I was busy making dinner, not listening closely, but I thought it sounded pretty good. Later, when I had time to listen more carefully I realized that it was really good. And when I listened to the lyrics more closely it struck me: this was all about God. Most of the songs were addressed to Him, and the first tune was God speaking, addressing the soul, or perhaps the Church (like all mystical poetry this could be understood on different levels of meaning).
I know, you are thinking “Eew. Christian rock” and are heading for the door. Don’t. This is not the “Contemporary Christian Rock” you hear on the radio, all sentimental and preachy and musically second rate. Jonathan Reuel’s music is original and fresh, his lyrics well crafted- indeed many of them could stand alone as poetry- and while he is obviously Christian, the tone is direct and unaffected.
I went online looking for tunes to post, but all I could find was some concert footage of not very high quality. I went to his website and found an email address. Weeks and then months went by without a response, and I eventually forgot about it.
Then last week, Jonathan responded. He had been on a computer fast, and had just read my email. He answered some of my questions- yes, he was, as I guessed, a Mennonite- and he sent a couple of his tunes, which he had posted on Youtube for me.
So at long last I have a couple of tunes to share, fruits of a chance encounter. This is the first song on the album, a letter from God:
And another:
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