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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Rock and Roll Adventist Christian and Temptation

Acid-tinged sonic improvisations, a la Jimi Hendrix*, amazed the ultra-conservative members at an Adventist Christian service earlier this year.

Whatever the detriment or benefit of having a sophisticated electric guitar solo played at the divine worship on a Saturday (Sabbath) morning the important thing is whether the folks listening were brought nearer to Christ or tempted, after the Sabbath, to go out and discover this new Adventist Christian music that is everywhere.

Hearing the familiar melody of Amazing Grace being played by this young man, in the most unconventional version that I've ever heard, moved me to the brink of tears. The words and melody of the unadorned original version I grew up with is embedded in my very DNA.




* Historians will tell you that all of the sounds heard on this video for the electric guitar where engineered and discovered by Jim Hendrix around 1967 and 1968. He used no gizmos. The sounds were coaxed, sputtered and extracted naturally from his guitar. The gizmos were the result of a growing demand to produce these sounds on-tap. They are still being utilized the world over. Jimi Hendrix, whatever his weaknesses and failings as a human being, changed the sound of popular and church music as it is heard today.

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