ALBUM REVIEW: Freddy Mercury is back from the dead — and he's praising Jesus!

(By Erik)

A couple of days ago I bought Wide-eyed and Mystified, the latest album from Downhere, on iTunes.

The band’s song, “A Better Way,” has been getting a lot of play on a local Christian station. Another song from the album, “The More,” is in heavy rotation on the Christian alternative station. The rest of the album is equally great.

“A Better Way” begins with Jason Germain’s vocals on the verses. The first time I heard the song I thought, “eh, this is nice.”

Then came the chorus, and the high-tenor voice of Marc Martel kicked in.

“Whoa, this guy sounds a little bit like Freddy Mercury,” I said, and the thought of the late, flamboyant frontman of Queen singing spiritual songs gave me a giddy thrill. I kept waiting for a Brian May guitar solo.

(Most of the hair-metal bands I loved in the 1980s, including Def Leppard, were heavily influenced by Queen, by the way. A lot of them, including Leppard, performed at a tribute concerns after Freddy died of AIDS in 1991.)

“A Better Way” reminds me a lot of “Under Pressure,” a duet by Queen featuring Freddy and David Bowie. (The famous bass line from that song was sampled without permission by Vanilla Ice for the infamous hip-hop hit “Ice, Ice, Baby.”)

Even if you’re not a Queen fan or even vaguely familiar with the band (if you’re my wife, for example) you’ll still love this album. Most Christian music fans will be more comfortable with comparisons between Marc and Kevin Max of DC Talk. He has that kind of a voice, and it’s a great counterpoint to Jason’s vocals on the album.

I was concerned that Wide-eyed would be lyrically thin after hearing “A Better Way,” a beautiful, but simple, expression of Christ’s love for us. But the album has some exceedingly clever lyrics. My favorite song is “The Real Jesus.” Here’s a sampling:

Jesus on the radio, Jesus on a late night show
Jesus in a dream, looking all serene
Jesus on a steeple, Jesus in the Gallup poll
Jesus has His very own brand of rock and roll …

Jesus started something new
Jesus coined a phrase or two
Jesus split the line at the turning point of time
Jesus sparked a controversy
Jesus, known for His mercy, gave a man his sight
Jesus isn't white

Jesus loves the children, holds the lambs
Jesus prays a lot
Jesus has distinguishing marks on His hands

I don't care if they got it off a Christian-bookstore bumper sticker, that last line gives me chills.