Rich Mullins "Pictures In The Sky"
by Bruce A. Brown
CCM Magazine April 1987
Most rookie artists would be proud to have a sophmore
release as good as Pictures in the Sky. But most new artists
in the past few years didn't have a debut as outstanding as
Rich Mullins. everything about that record, from the
self-deprecating cover (which pictured the artist sporting
a "Rich Mullins" T-shirt with the top of his head missing!) to
the superior songwriting, set Mullins apart from the crowd. Almost
everything about Mullins' follow-up, however, shows Mullins trying to
fit into that mold that he so effortlessly broke out of on his first LP.
Specifically, Mullins is haunted by Elvis Costello disease, a songwriter's
malady which finds a series of cleverly turned phrases not quite adding up to
a whole song. Mullins seems to have been influenced a great deal by
Michael W. Smith in the past year, but Pictures in the Sky displays
none of Smith's keyboard prowess or arranging abilities. Possessing
only an average voice, Mullins first released an album whose strength
was the economy of lyric and arrangement coupled with knowledge
of how far not to push his voice. The new record carries that
challenge no farther vocally and displays little of Mullins'
charm and wit. In fact, the lone outstanding track on the first
side is "Faith Without Works" ("Screen Door"), a Bobby
McFerrin/Manhattan Transfer vocal novelty that could almost
be labeled a throwaway.
Mullins redeems the album on side two with three
very good songs and two others that are quite strong.
"Steal at Any Price" finds him looking into people's
lives through Christ's eyes and experiencing their
pain as Jesus would. The title track features a nice
piano bridge a la Bruce Hornsby while "Could Be A
Celebration" lays down a sinewy Latin groove.
The R&B workout of "It Don't Do" is a clever reminder
not to put the cart before the horse, and "What Trouble
Are Giants" is a hilarious paraphrase of the David and
Goliath story.
It's hard to imagine that the writer of
such classic songs as "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" and
"Love of Another Kind" couldn't come up with stronger
material for his second album. Perhaps the excellence
of Mullins' first album made me expect that much better a
follow-up. But, I'll be content with the half-dozen
quality tracks here and hope that Rich hits his stride
next time around.
Rich Mullins "Pictures In The Sky"
by Devlin Donaldson
Gospel Music Today July/August/September 1987
Having written hit songs for Amy Grant "Sing Your Praise To The Lord", "Doubly Good To You" and "Love Of Another Kind" and having recorded a succesful debut album, Rich Mullins is making a name for himself in the Christian Music world. This new effort should further enhance his reputation.
Pictures in the Sky is a wonderful album that covers a variety of emotions and timely subjects. For example, Mullins offers caring admonitions in "It Don't Do", while in "Be With You" he represents a grim view of the end of the world and expresses his desire to be with the Lord. In contrast, "Screen Door" is a fun, ironic song.
Musically, this album's pop stylings are a joy to listen to. To sum it up, Pictures in the Sky, is a real pop record about real topics, and it's definitely a winner.