First Love: A HIstoric Gathering of Jesus Music Pioneers

At first this appears to be a documentary of the Jesus Movement of the `60s and `70s. It's actually a late `90s reunion of 16 bands and artists interspersed with interview and commentary. This set contains 2 DVDs and 2 CDs. The producers have cleverly made the interviews segue in and out between the songs, so that the 2 CDs, which contain all the song performances, are crystal clear and beautifully produced. That means that while you get all 31 songs on the two CDs, you can also watch the performances with interviews on the DVDs. An included 25 page booklet gives bios on the artists.

Steve Camp and John Fischer offer especially incisive and trenchant observations. Along with reprises of some of the movement's most memorable songs, there are some killer newer ones, most notably Honeytree's "Pioneer" from 1990, which longs for airplay. Darrell Mansfield, formerly of Blues Image, is not the first artist to cast Lieber and Stoller's "Stand By Me" as a gospel song (Johnny Rivers did so on his album "Not a Through Street" for example), but he is equally at home with its blues riffs. Andrae Crouch emerges as a precursor of today's praise movement. Larry Norman never appears, but Randy Stonehill shows a picture of him and they quote one of his songs. This set dates from before the reconciliation of LN and RS, as reported by John W. Thompson in the May/ June 2003 issue of Christian Musician magazine, and now Larry is rereleasing Randy's CDs.

Hopefully this set will lead to the CD reissue of great albums like Randy Matthews' "Son of Dust," Barry McGuire's "Lighten Up," "Love Song" and Darrell Mansfield's "Higher Power." I'd love to hear these artists' rockier cuts, but for now, here's "First Love."

The CDs and DVDs both include these songs:

Love Song: "Welcome Back," "Two Hands."

Barry McGuire: "Happy Road," "Seeds of Love."

Jamie Owens Collins: "The Victor," "Seasons of the Soul."

2nd Chapter of Acts: "Easter Song," "Which Way the Wind Blows"

Terry Clark: "Let's Have a Good Time," "Jesus Mighty Fortress."

Chuck Girard (of Love Song): "Sometimes Alleluia."

Annie Herring (of 2nd Chapter): "My Redeemer."

Keith Green (tribute on the DVD): "There is a Redeemer,"

"O Lord You're Beautiful," "Born Again."

Randy Stonehill: "King of Hearts," "Abandon Your Heart."

Darrell Mansfield: "Million Dollar Feeling," "Stand By Me."

John Fischer: "All Day Song," "Jesus Loves Even Me."

Randy Matthews: "Didn't He," "Ti Chape."

Matthew Ward (from 2nd Chapter): "To the King."

Paul Clark: "Abide," "Where Did I Fall Down?"

Honeytree: "Clean Before My Lord," "Pioneer."

Andrae Crouch: "I Don't Know Why (Jesus Loved Me),"

"I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes," "Bless His Holy Name."

I wasn't raised on "Christian" music, and before watching First Love I had no knowledge of how the movement got started. My only exposure to Christian music has occurred in the last seven years. Frankly, it's been a disappointing experience. This whole "CCM" Hollywood mentality reaches deep into Christian music. And I wondered why I found it all so distasteful--until I watched First Love.

Wow.

I wasn't there when these pioneers hit the road in their beat up buses, just to play a few songs on their old guitars to crowds of starving, young Jesus freaks. But something in my heart tells me I must have been there in spirit, because I felt completely overwhelmed watching this video. I was so excited to see the old video footage and images. It was like going home. I was moved to tears when Honeytree sang "Pioneer" - as was everyone else in the room with her. "Pioneer" is the essence of everything they lived and breathed in those days.

These artists were truly pioneers. I see that this is what Christian music should be like today. And I'm going to stop feeling bad about disliking today's "CCM" mentality, because it really is utter degradation of what used to be the REAL reason why people sang their hearts out for Jesus.

In the decades of the 1960s and '70s an iconoclastic counterculture emerged among the young. It was marked in their philosophies and in their music by a rejection of traditional values, especially those expressed as part of the Christian community. Eventually there came a kind of backlash as young men and woman began to experience a spiritual void in their "tune in, turn on, drop out" lifestyles. Many of them began to return to traditional Christian values and expressed their conversions in music. This return to basic Christian values and personal relationships with Jesus Christ was popularly referred to as the "Jesus Movement" and was evidenced by the emergence of a number of Christian bands, composers, and performers. For three historic days in a Southern California, Christian musicians gathered together to play their own special music. The two-disc DVD, "First Love: A Historic Gathering Of Jesus Music Pioneers is a record and a recording of that seminal celebration. "First Love" showcases 3 hours and 31 minutes of memorable and inspiring live performances, and in doing so reveals a rare look a the heart and motives of each artist as they each describe their personal transformations. "First Love" showcases engaging and entertaining performances by Randy Matthews; Barry McGuire; Annie Herring; Chuck Girard; Matthew Ward; John Fischer; Andrae Crouch; Jamie Owens Collins; 2nd Chapter of Acts; Terry Clark; Keith Green tribute with Melody Green; Randy Stonehill; Love Song; Paul Clark; Darrell Mansfield; and Honeytree. In addition to the two DVD discs, a double audio CD containing over 31 audio recordings of the performances is also included. "First Love" is enthusiastically recommended viewing and listening for all Christians, regardless of their denominational affiliations, backgrounds, or ages. It should also be noted that sample clips of some performances are freely available on the ExplorationFilms.com website.

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