The Atrocious Music Collection: #26 in a series
Artist: The Arhcers
Album Title: Spreadin' Like Wildfire
Category: Cover Art Disaster
Year: 1981
Cover art style: a still life of forced smiles and blow-dried hair.
Audio: Acquisition: Uncertain; perhaps at Tracks Records, Bloomington, IN ca. 1990.
Click on picture for full-sized image
Look, it was all about the cover. Well, the cover and the back of the album. Are those monogramed bowling jackets? And the hair. The front and back covers and the super blow-dried hair. That’s what caught my eye.
I had no idea Spreadin’ Like Wildfire was nominated for a Grammy (Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational, 1981). This music is not my cup of tea, and be forewarned the ear-worm quotient is high. This music combines lyrics which cleave to the overly-earnest sentiments of Christian Rock with the heavy-handed, over-produced, pop sounds of the early 1980s, and is rife with musical clichés, endless chorus repeats, and the occasional Kenny G-inspired sax.
The core of The Archers in 1981 were siblings Tim, Steven, and Janice Archer. (The aforementioned monogramming lets you know who is who.) According to Wikipedia, the group was an important part of several trends that led to the “polished, commercial sound that would be identified as stereotypical contemporary Christian music.” I will vouch for the “stereotypical,” “polished,” and “commercial” parts of that. The music is both forgettably familiar and gets stuck in your ear at the same time.
I also find the dropping of the G (Spreadin’ and Runnin') to be a bit incongruous with the musical style and the Archers roots deep in the heart of... Northern California. Whatever.
The audio samples available out there are limited. If you can get your hands on Sooner or Later, handle it with care. The chorus has been stuck in my head for a week now. I also can't find I Never Knew Love, which uses the the musical/lyrical tropes of romantic love songs in a song addressed to God. Not sure about others, but that makes me a tad uncomfortable.
I guess what I’m saying is I feel bad placing this record in the collection when there’s love and respect our there for the Archers, and I don’t mean to make light of anyone’s faith. In my defense, it was the cover (and the back and the hair) that made me lay down a couple of bucks, and if the music fits the cover (and in my ears at least, it does) I appreciate the honesty of that. Very Christian of them.