Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Great lyrics to encourage you and make you think
Cons: None
The Bottom Line:
Excellent lyrics
Backed by fun rock beat.
Steven
Produced a winner
During the 1990's, Steven Curtis Chapman ruled Christian
music. His songs were all over the
airwaves. He won so many Dove Awards
(the Christian version of the Grammy's) that people started joking about
renaming them the Stevies. I was in
college during this time, and I'll confess that I was as excited as everyone
else when Heaven in the Real World, his 1994 release came out. And the music is still great today.
As was always the case back then, the track opens with the
title anthem. Okay, technically, it opens
with some people reading out depressing headlines that then is drowned out by a
speech from Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson reminding us that our hope
is not in government but in God. (Steven
was a spokesman for Prison Fellowship at the time.) All of this takes maybe 45 seconds before
Steven actually starts to sing. The
lyrics on this song aren't that surprising after the quote. It's just a reminder that we can have peace
through Jesus. This is an upbeat anthem;
it does start off the disc after all.
And it's still fun to listen to.
Steven seemed to be big on analogies with this disc as four
of the biggest songs here were filled with them. "King of the Jungle" is an upbeat
pop number with just a hint of jungle rhythm to it. As you'd probably guess from the title, the
whole point of this song is that "What I need is to remember one
thing/That the Lord of the gentle breeze is Lord of the rough and tumble/And He
is the King of the jungle." While
the song is dominated by electric guitar, there's a nice brass section at one
point.
The early 90's were the heyday of Barney, and Steven's kids
were the right age to love the big purple dinosaur. That was part of the inspiration for
"Dancing with the Dinosaur," a song about sticking to right and wrong
as defined by the Bible no matter the pressures of the rest of the world. This is another fun rocker filled with
electric guitar.
While still upbeat, "Burn the Ships" takes things
down volume wise. Inspired by the story
of Cortez burning his ships so his men were forced to build lives for
themselves in the New World , he draws a
parallel to new life Christians have and the temptation to turn away from
it. Frankly, the song is an anthem, and
it's very easy to belt out the chorus with Steven.
The last of the analogy songs is the quiet ballad
"Remember the Chains." The
first verse talks about a prisoner that Steven happened to see and the thought
that he had about his own chains of sin.
The first verse is just Steven and his acoustic guitar. While he does bring in some other instruments
at the first chorus, that guitar is still the heart of this song.
Over the course of the rest of the disc, Steven sings about
solitude with God, how highly God values every person, God's awesome mercy, and
the importance of forgiveness and love in a marriage. "Heartbeat of Heaven" even finds
him struggling against a selfish heart.
Which leaves us with my favorite two songs on this
disc. "Still Listening" is
first. It opens with the three kids he
had at the time singing a Sunday School song to the tune of "Frere
Jacques." From there, Steven
launches into another quiet ballad about prayer. Keyboard and acoustic guitar trade off lead
instrument seamlessly here in a song that is both a praise song as a song of
confession for lack of praying.
But for pure fun, look no further than "Facts are
Facts." This is a fast rocker
written specifically for his concerts.
He wanted something the audience could really get into and shout back
lines to him on stage. I never did get
to see this one in concert, but I fell in love with it from this disc. It's a simple affirmation of faith I still
often refer to. "I know there's a
God who knows my name/And a Son who died to take the blame/I believe Jesus is
coming back/'Cause promises and promises and facts are facts." Why do we try to make it harder than
that? Add in a fun melody and fast pace,
and you've got a sure winner.
Even almost 20 years later, I still find myself drawn to
this disc and can have it in my car for days on end. While not as popular now as the two discs
that came before it, I think that Heaven in the Real World is a better all
around project. Your collection of
Christian music isn't complete without it.
Disc Length: 55:20
Tracks:
1. Heaven in the Real World
2. King of the Jungle
3. Dancing with the Dinosaur
4. The Mountain
5. Treasure of You
6. Love and Learn
7. Burn the Ships
8. Remember Your Chains
9. Heartbeat of Heaven
10. Sill Listening
11. Facts are Facts
12. Miracle of Mercy
13. Heartbeat of Heaven (Reprise)
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