Steven Curtis Chapman - Beauty Will Rise
Producer: Steven Curtis Chapman & Brent Milligan When I first heard Steven Curtis Chapman’s newest release, Beauty Will Rise, I toiled over whether I would write the review without mentioning the tragic and accidental death of his adopted daughter Maria. However, I couldn’t accurately describe the emotional journey that Chapman took me on without bringing it up. By now, most of the Christian world has heard of the death of little Maria - a life altering moment in all of the Chapman’s life. Beauty Will Rise, in all of its entirety, was inspired by the spiritual journey that Chapman went on after the death of his daughter. Too often, in the Christian world, we can sugar-coat the real hurts and struggles in our lives. That’s nowhere to be found on this disc. From the very start - the listener is pulled into the lyrics that explain how “heaven is a sweet, maple syrup kiss and a thousand other little things I miss with her gone.” How can one expect to hear Chapman bear his heart and soul on this record without being moved? Chapman’s honesty about his grief and loss is unparalleled. I’ve never heard an artist be as emotionally honest as Chapman is on Beauty Will Rise. Lyrically, there’s not a tune on here where the listener doesn’t feel the hurt that Chapman has gone through - but at the same time, experience the hope that Chapman has experienced through the whole process. The aforementioned “Heaven Is the Face” is a key song in the turnaround from grief to healing and Chapman has written some of his most beautiful lyrics to date in that song alone with more imagery in that tune that past albums combined. “See” finds Chapman crying out about bitter tears and clouds of sorrow - but the end turning it around to “taste and see that the Lord is Good”. Beautiful moments like this are overly abundant on this disc. Even more memorable than that is the placement of certain tracks that really pushes this album over the edge. The pairing of “God Is It True (Trust Me)” with “I Will Trust You” helps the listener see the completed journey that Chapman went on, while “February 20th” is a touching moment in the life of the Chapman family that describes the day Maria accepted Jesus into her heart - just months before her death. The album closes with the resplendent “Spring Is Coming” - an album that summarizes the depth of the hope found in those that find their healing in Christ. “Jesus Will Meet You There” helps the listener to take what they’ve heard on the disc and apply to their own life as Chapman gives multiple accounts where God’s hope is alive and thriving. Overall, Beauty Will Rise may not be the most technically gratifying work that Chapman has produced, but it is by far his most engaging and important work to date. Beauty Will Rise is an album that will go down in history has Chapman’s finest work. Track listing: 1. Heaven Is the Face RATING:
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