Required Advent Listening: Andrew Peterson
by D.O.
It is fairly safe to say that as each Advent season rolls around, so too will another odfm post about Andrew Peterson and his magnificent album, Behold the Lamb of God. This is that post.
The fact that I’m a huge fan of Christmas music is no secret. As each Halloween passes, I’m tempted to Christmasize my iPod, but I force myself to wait until Thanksgiving (dinner, at least) is over. When I get in my car and drive back to Dallas each Thanksgiving night, Behold is always the first album I listen to. It’s become something of a tradition, one that so far only Skylar and I have shared, but a precious tradition nonetheless.
I cannot say enough about how excellent this album is. It is without question the single best Christmas album I’ve ever heard (yes, even better than Sufjan’s). It may well be the best album I’ve ever heard. In listening to it hundreds of times over the past six years, I’ve not grown tired of a single track. The way the Story of Christ’s coming is told, both musically and lyrically, has done an unrealistically good job of opening up this church boy’s eyes to the magnitude of what we celebrate each 25th of December. From the Passover to Moses to Kings and Prophets, Peterson brilliantly displays that the Story of Christmas (the anticipation execution of the Messiah’s arrival) isn’t found only in Luke 2, but across the entire Bible.
So just as the album’s opening song beckons, “Gather ’round ye children, come,” I too welcome you to come and listen. You can stream the album for free, buy the album on iTunes, or better yet, buy the 10th Anniversary 2-Disc set — including a live recording and a remastered version of the original — at the Rabbit Room.
I realize that if ever I’ve beaten a dead horse, this is it. I do this not to burden you, my precious readers, but to drive home the point that you’re doing yourselves a disservice by knowing about this album and not owning it. I care about you that much. Friends don’t let friends… well you get the idea.
If you’re one of the ten people who both read odfm and already own a copy of Behold, allow me to point you to last year’s Soundtrack for your Advent Season post for further recommendations.
Comments
guess what? I’ve never heard it. off to stream it. Thanks for the suggestion!
I concur! Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God” is one of the best. Although, Daniel Renstrom’s new release “On the incarnation” is making its way up the charts (at least on my itunes playlist).