ARK
The Angels Come (re-release)
"Can they do that?" Some of us remember
when many churches were leery about the
prospect of drums and electric guitars playing
Christ-centered music. A host of artists in
the 1970s toured tirelessly, sleeping on floors
and eating a lot of leftovers while breaking
down resistance from those who questioned
whether Christian rock should be done at all,
and those who doubted it could be done well.
One band showing how to do it was Ark,
formed when British singer/guitarists Dave
Kelly and Derek Jeffery joined forces with
busy American session guitarist Al Perkins
(Eagles, Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor) in
1978. The resulting Ark project blended influences
across fifteen years of bright pop
music, with the tight harmonies Lennon and
McCartney borrowed from the Everly Brothers
ever-present. A track entitled "Hold Me
Tonight" could be about a lot of things, but in
this case it's a prayer for divine consolation, a
12-string Rickenbacker sitting atop a rhythm
section (David MacKay and James Kehn) that
would have sounded at home on Fleetwood
Mac's famed "Rumours" album. "Birthsong"
changes directions, with a slinky New Wave
guitar attack sounding like The Knack, a year
before The Knack were
listically-oriented "For A
at its most Beatlesy,
era, with close harmo
section. "A Place for
into reggae; like some
it uses romantic imag
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gry World" finds the ba
sive, with dueling "Ho
The whistling organ o
would have sounded
early Elvis Costello re
brings an open-faced
the Revelation 3:17-the
Door" takes another tr
marine. "Arms of the Lo
ano and a lovely orch
Greg Nelson before th
hurrah with the Clapton
a worthy trip down m
when artists worked h
its own vibe.
arktherockband.