Front Row Follies
with Lottie Squires
JANUARY 3, 2011...The boy ain't right, but he sure is fun! Neal Wood? Well, yes, but this particular time I was referring to Brad Strider, the alpha dog of Mercy's Well. (He teases me a lot about all my pets...but then, most of you do that!) After scolding me for not seeing the group all year--except at NQC, which doesn't count since I didn't go just to see them--he didn't even send an e-mail to make sure I knew they'd be in Fayetteville last night. Luckily, I'm on their newsletter list and I check their website regularly, so I was there on the front row (duh!) for last night's concert. Congratulations to West Fayetteville Baptist Church on their 17th anniversary, and thank you very much for inviting Mercy's Well to help celebrate the occasion! Brad, Greg and Kyle led a great service; there was never a dull moment--there never is with them!--and truly something for every taste. Although I will never, ever raise my hand when a group asks if we like old songs, because it's usually followed by "old people like old songs," I do like them. Mercy's Well did plenty of those from the "Songbook" CD..."God Put a Rainbow in the Cloud," "He Will Surely Make It Alright," "Leave Your Sorrows and Come Along" (with a shape-note chorus, which was just long enough to be fun but not so long as to be annoying), and "When They Ring the Bells of Heaven." From "Hymns," there was "Nothing but the Blood" and "It Is Well with My Soul." They mixed in several of their newer songs during the evening, too. "This Could Be the Day," the gorgeous "I'll See You Soon," and my favorite version of "When God Ran" came from "Skywriting." "Big Praise," "More Like Jesus, Less Like Me," and "The Power" are brand new; the CD, "Power," has just been released, so you'll want to order your copy very soon...like maybe, today! It's really good! "The Power" is their new radio single; we've just starting playing it, now that the Christmas music has been put away and things are getting back to normal. Mercy's Well even did one Christmas song (from "December"), but since they do it all year, and it's so beautiful, I didn't mind hearing "Who Is He in Yonder Stall" one more time! If any of these CDs are missing from your collection, you can find them all on the Mercy's Well website. Or maybe, if we're very lucky and you ask your music director very nicely, they'll come back to this area soon and you can get them at the product table after the service! Tell your music director that songs clips and contact information are on the website, and Brad will be waiting for that phone call. Until next time, I'll see you on the front row!