Josh Garrels, my current folk-hero of Christian music, returns with a single called All in All. Immediately you can feel the nostalgic 70’s vibe of this music, that found its footing more in the 80’s as a diverse singer-songwriter era, which catapulted pop music even further into the heavens. But if you do not feel it like I do, please take a listen to people like Van Morrison or Dylan. Morrison’s most popular song of any era is an easy comparison, and Garrels does a great job of emulating the Northern Irish troubadour with his romantic blues-jazz-folk synthesis of “Brown Eyed Girl” & “Moondance”. Dylan is in there as well, with his more easy going folksy swagger.
Of course the vibe of praise that reminds us that God has everything we need is a healthy refocus for many today who may have need of a calming tune. Jesus, being the All In All that we need is a great source of peace for the listener, and many of Garrel’s themes are going more in this direction. To be even more accurate, his past themes of romantic beauty and faithful trust in Christ converge more and more, in this song this is ever more true. Instead of it being a call to defend and protect love for love’s sake, or a relief of burden as found in trust of Christ, both themes converge as the same thing, identifying a new clarity. His protection of Christ as his All in All is the same as his laying down of his burden upon Christ. What a beautiful synthesis of his past work!
Take a listen and tell us what you think!
Did you enjoy this article? Are you a fan of Josh Garrels? Let us know on our social media!
