Tear Down the Walls (Jewish Rock
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Explore ChristianityToday.com: Glimpses of God Main | E-mail Us | About Us Music Search Home > Music > Glimpses of God E-mail this page enter here Printer version Features Artists Sign up for our free newsletter: your e-mail address RSS Feeds Reviews Interviews Commentaries Rick Recht SUBSCRIBE! Music Store Upcoming Releases Positive, Practical, & Tear Down the Walls (Jewish Rock Uplifting Glimpses of God Records) News Jewish Rock We Recommend by LaTonya Taylor Editors' Choice Best Albums of 2005 "Lift every voice and sing/'Til earth and heaven ring/Ring with Our "Best-Of" Archives the harmonies of liberty/Let our rejoicing rise/High as the listening skies/Let it resound loud as the rolling sea."—from Community Lift Every Voice and Sing Your Feedback Message Boards Free Music Newsletter For Jewish rock musician Rick Recht, music, heritage and social justice have always gone together. Recht is known for Top Artists writing songs that celebrate Jewish heritage and culture in • Risk-free trial issue Michael W. Smith contemporary forms. "I'm a teacher," he says in an interview • Give A Gift Subscription Relient K with Christian Music Today. "I happen to play music—that's Chris Tomlin David Crowder Band my medium." Delirious Third Day Recently, the guitarist felt a need to take his music beyond MercyMe the stage. "Over the last couple of years, I started getting an Shawn McDonald itch for coming up with a way to make these songs turn into Jeremy Camp action," he says. "I wanted to give kids an action plan— P.O.D. Casting Crowns something to do with it rather than just to feel good about tobyMac it." Current Reviews The resulting action plan includes a CD, Tear Down the Walls, featuring Recht's contemporary, guitar-driven rock (similar to • Various Artists: Life Is Precious: A Wes Steven Curtis Chapman or Dave Matthews), and a touch of King Tribute gospel, with background vocals by black and Jewish teens. Released in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, it's • Family Force 5: part of a four-phase program designed to train teens to fight Business Up Front, Party in the Back racism and to lead diversity awareness programs. Recht, who is white, hopes the program and an album-based curriculum • Alan Jackson: can spread to cities beyond his native St. Louis. MUSIC DEVOTIONS Precious Memories for teen girls • Take 6: Feels Good "When teenagers get into something, they become role models for everyone who's younger than them, and they • Jonas Brothers: It's become role models for everyone that's older than them," he About Time says. "Have a teenager lead, and everyone's gonna listen." • Steve Bell: My Dinner with Bruce As part of the recording process, Recht gathered a group of Devotions based on Jewish teens and drove down to Memphis' Stax Academy, a stories from Christian • Kutless: Hearts of music's top female artists the Innocent charter school operated by Soulsville, a non-profit organization that also operates the Stax Museum of American Sale price: $4.95 • Hillsong Australia: Soul Music. There, they joined local Jewish and African- download now! Songs for Communion American students in listening to two speakers: Rabbi Micah Greenstein, co-author of a chapter of Quiet Voices: Southern Shopping Mall Current Features Rabbis and Black Civil Rights 1880s to 1990s, and Rev. ChristianBook.com • Interview: Take 6 Samuel "Billy" Kyles, an African-American pastor and Civil Music CDs|Downloads Rights leader who witnessed the assassination of Dr. Martin Books|Videos|Gifts • Book Excerpt: One Luther King. Then, together the students recorded "Avadim Bible Studies Step Closer Christianaudio Books Hayinu," which blends Hebrew lyrics describing the Israelites' Christian History • Interview: journey from slavery to freedom with the lyrics to "We Shall Leadership Training Caedmon's Call Overcome." The song features soulful lead vocals from one- Small Group Resources • Movie Review: Why time American Idol contestant Philippe Crymes. The group Featured Items Should the Devil Have later performed the song at Memphis' National Civil Rights All the Good Music? Museum on Martin Luther King Day. • Book Excerpt: Coming Up for Air "Just looking at our histories," says Recht, "we really do have a strong commonality of oppression as minorities, and I think • Interview: Wes King we have a lot to learn from each other by reigniting the • Interview: The relevance of oppression, and the relevance of community, Listening and of safety." Folios & • Interview: At Rabbi Greenstein's suggestion, Recht recorded the African- Songbooks Watermark American national anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" in his at Christianbook.com • Glimpses of God: contemporary style. Recht's version of the historic anthem Rick Recht sounds similar to the praise-and-worship music one might • Glimpses of God: sing in an evangelical megachurch. Robbie Williams "The lyric resonates with me and with the Jewish community in general," he says. "I wanted to create an upbeat, really relevant version of it." Vineyard Praise & Poll Worship 7 CDs At next week's GMA The reaction to the piece in multicultural, interfaith gatherings Music Awards, which Reg: $118.86 should claim Song of has been mostly positive, partly because Recht explains the Now: $19.99 the Year? (note: artists history of the poem, written by James Weldon Johnson, are listed instead of wherever he performs. "We have sacred pieces as Jews, and songwriters for the this is, certainly to the African-American community, a very sake of familiarity) sacred piece," he says. "It's very important to me that people • "Cry Out to Jesus" - understand the meaning, the intention, and the history of this Third Day piece every time I play it in a live setting." After his • "Friend of God" - explanation, he asks people to follow the black tradition of Israel Houghton standing when the song is played "out of respect for what • "Held" - Natalie Grant this song means not just to one people, but to all people." • "Hide" - Joy Williams • "Holy Is the Lord" - The album also features the St. Louis' Cote Brilliante Chris Tomlin Presbyterian Church Choir on "Let My People Go," a call-and- • "How Great Is Our response chorus that tells the story of the Exodus. God" - Chris Tomlin • "Indescribable" - Chris Tomlin "The Exodus is an experience that resonates for so many • "Lifesong" - Casting religions, particularly the Jewish and African-American Crowns experience of oppression," he says. "But you hear those • "Only Grace" - words come out of a lot of people, from a lot of different Matthew West • "Voice of Truth" - backgrounds, because most religions throughout history, if Casting Crowns not in the present, know what it means to be oppressed." Free Newsletter Sign up for the Music Take the poll To Recht, learning from the traditions of others strengthens Connection Newsletter: his own commitment to work for justice. your e-mail HOLIDAYS & EVENTS • Lent "When you know what it means to be oppressed, you know • CTI Celebrates 50 Years! what it takes to survive. And you know why you need to believe in God and why you need to have faith, and why you need to have love." 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