Simple, beautiful offerings from Signpost

By D.S. Martin and ChristianWeek | January 1, 2009

Ordinary inspiration

Records like Ordinary Places, that seem to come sailing out of nowhere, are reassuring. "Come along," Gayle Salmond sings invitingly on the opening track, "We belong in the family of God." The subtle, supple, blues-tinged instruments rise and ebb like an ocean wave, carrying her voice precisely where she wants it to go. She begins with a whisper that builds and then breaks in a half-growled note bent perfectly over onto itself.

Lyrically, "Come Along" works by encouraging us to something more: "We're all children of a new creation / Claimed by God before all the nations / Come on sing a song of celebration / We belong in the family of God."

Although the musicianship is fine on these songs, it's Gayle's voice that is the most important and most versatile instrument of all.

Of course, this CD doesn't come out of nowhere. Gayle's been engaged in music-making for a long time. Ordinary Places doesn't sound like a first release, due to her confident vocals, sharp song writing and her husband's seasoned production. Although Gayle has previously recorded four albums of educational material, this is the first of her original songs.

Gayle's husband Roy Salmond--half of the acoustic duo Salmond and Mulder (one of Canada's few successful acts in the early days of contemporary Christian music)--has recently recorded such solid Canadian musicians as Glen Soderholm, Lianna Klassen and Carolyn Arends at his own Whitewater Studios in Surrey, B.C. Gayle has often been called on to add vocals for recordings or to fine-tune the song writing of artists in the studio.

The only song that isn't Gayle's own is Gillian Welch's "Orphan Girl." It has less of a country flavour than either the Gillian Welch version or Emmylou Harris' cover. This is a good benchmark for comparison since these were produced by the two music producers I respect most highly: T Bone Burnett (Welch) and Daniel Lanois (Harris). Even so, Gayle Salmond stands up, although she doesn't add anything new to the song.

Ordinary Places is definitely a singer-songwriter's album--rich with worthy songs. In "Sophia," where she personifies wisdom as a feminine lover, she sings: "You gotta love her / Don't fall for any other / You gotta want her / She'll move you like the wind will move the waves." A particularly memorable track is "Nothing Gold," her tribute to the beauty of autumn, inspired by Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay." The recording is dominated by Gayle's piano, and includes a remarkable half-whispered recitation of Frost's words.

Here's proof that inspiration often comes to us from ordinary places.

Devotion

Steve Bell is too humble to ever become a big star. He's spent a lot of energy promoting other artists through his label Signpost Music, and doesn't compromise his artistic vision to gain the major American distribution his CDs deserve.

Devotion is Bell's first worship album. Surprisingly, none of the songs performed by this talented singer-songwriter are his own. Eight of the 10 were written by Bells's friend Gord Johnson for their church community in Winnipeg. Since this album is meant to bring these songs to worshippers far and wide, Devotion is an enhanced CD that includes printable lead sheets (guitar chords and melody line) that can be used by any church with a CCLI licence. But you don't have to take advantage of these features to appreciate Devotion.

The songs are sequenced to bring us through varying stages of worship in a natural arc, beginning with celebrating who God is ("Almighty God") and culminating by entrusting ourselves to his care ("Benediction"). Included is Gayle Salmond's "The Lorica," which she also recorded for Ordinary Places. It is based on a prayer of St. Patrick. She sings backup on the Devotion version.

Roy Salmond's production and Bell's musical vision make this CD a pleasure to hear. What's more important for reaching its goal is that it brings these songs to the worshippers of our nation. I believe all worship leaders would do well to share these songs with their congregations.