The Prayer Chain was one of those legendary bands that had great talent, put out some great music, and then went out in a flash. The guys who made up that band (Tim Taber, Eric Campuzano, Andy Prickett, and Wayne Everett) have all gone on to bigger things and continue to work together in various capacities to create and nurture some of the most exciting music out there. So it’s only fitting that some of the newer bands on the indie scene would want to honor the band by putting together a tribute album.
All in all this isn't a bad album. It doesn't suffer from the uneven sound of many tribute discs. Predictably, many of the artists come from Audiolab's own roster, as well as the Cut and Paste Collective, and in most cases you can hear how The Prayer Chain has influenced their work. Some of the better songs on the disc are Glisten's slow and dreamy rendering of "Mercury," Novice's version of "Waterdogs," "Chatterbox" from The Northern Lights, and Michael Pritzl's soul-filled version of "Sky High."
But in the end, one has to wonder, if a band is so good, why bother settling for a mere tribute album? Since most of the songs come from The Prayer Chain's two best albums, Mercury and Shawl, just dust off your old copies (assuming you've let them get dust-covered) or try to find them on the net. And supplement that with all the great projects the band members have been involved with like Cush, Lassie Foundation, Charity Empressa, The Violet Burning, Starflyer 59, and the list goes on. In other words, go for the real thing, baby!
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #98Reviewed by Dan MacIntoshIt speaks volumes that over half of the album Mercury is covered with this tribute to The Prayer Chain, whereas only one selection from its debut EP, Whirlpool, appears. The Prayer Chain may have made an immediate impact upon the Christian rock subculture with its initial upbeat praise works like "Shine," but it was the complicated music and mixed emotions of Mercury that ultimately earned this…Decapolis October 2002Reviewed by Matt Modrich"Salutations: A Tribute to The Prayer Chain" is a project put together by AudioLab Records. It features 13 bands and artists doing some of The Prayer Chain's best songs. The Prayer Chain was one of the first "Christian" bands to break new ground in an industry that was known as a second rate rip-off from the mainstream. In the early to mid 90s the band was part of the grunge/alternative era, but…
