THE 77's - DROWNING WITH LAND IN SIGHT (*NEW-CD, 1994, Myrrh Records)

THE 77's - DROWNING WITH LAND IN SIGHT (*NEW-CD, 1994, Myrrh Records)

This darkly brilliant collection of songs takes a number of left turns designed to keep the "establishment" at a distance--just when the band was entering the Christian-music mainstream. Some worked. The label back-masked the phrase "kicked my ass" on "Dave's Blues," completely missing the tribute to guitarist David Leonhardt, who gave his all on Drowning despite undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's disease at the time. Band leader Mike Roe's Alice Cooper impersonation on "Snake" is creepy and beguiling, and the band's note-for-note cover of Led Zeppelin 's "Nobody's Fault but Mine" makes no pretense about "stealing it back" for Blind Willie Johnson. --Brad Caviness

Track Listings
1. Nobody's Fault But Mine
2. Snowblind
3. Snake
4. Indian Winter
5. Film At 11
6. Mezzo
7. Cold Cold Night
8. Dave's Blues
9. Sounds O' Autumn
10. The Jig Is Up
11. Alone Together
12. For Crying Out Loud