Paul Aldrich

Item: The History Of God And Man
Author: Roger Appelinski

The History Of God And Man

(1994)

Reviewed by Roger Appelinski

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Broken RecordsThe LighthouseJuly 1994

ccm comedy spoken word

Most Christian comedy has been divided into two categories: stand-up and musical humor. There have been several stand-up albums and plenty of humorous tunes in years past. The History of God and Man is a major departure from the beaten path. About half the tracks are musical satire with the rest being studio comedy "sketches."

The musical side of the album is impressively diverse. Aldrich demonstrates he can try almost any musical style (succinctly summed up in "Radio Kum Ba Jah," a modern Tower of Babel story as the classic song is remade in almost every musical style known-with obvious spoofs of "Wipe Out," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Achy Breaky Heart," "Stayin' Alive," and "She Loves You" to name a few). There are a few less-than-award-winning spots, but on the whole, he really shines in the various stylistic efforts.

The balance is studio comedy sketches-no audience. While this may sound strange, I think it was a big challenge, which Aldrich and producer Terry Taylor (who else would you expect?) pull off successfully. They are not dry readings into a microphone-each has a musical setting, or comedic background, and is engaging. From satirical renderings of Genesis stories set in the modern day to spoofs of the self-help/telemarketing generation, they cover a bit of territory (most of the history of God and man...) in their musings.

I was surprised to find several serious moments on the project, primarily in the song "Cover Me." It's a sleeper that could qualify for airplay as an AC ballad. With short verses about many of the Bible's great figures, Aldrich lends a nice vocal over a wonderfully scaled down acoustic guitar, bass, drum, and B-3. "The Mansion Wall" is a serious reading that tells of a man arriving at heaven to find that each stone of his mansion is engraved with a moment in his life and the words "everytime you trust, it lasts forever"-and how he realizes that each moment of his life trusting the Lord touches eternity.

I'd say the album should appeal more to adults than kids. While it primarily takes a lighter look at the Church and church history, it is very factual in nature, and many of the "turns of phrase" are fairly mature in content. The serious tracks show that Aldrich isn't just out for laughs-he believes what he's talking about.

It's humorous, but not musical slapstick. It won't appeal to the Beavis and Butthead generation, but it should be welcomed by believers open to a little satire.