#271 IN GOD WE TRUST by Stryper (1988)

IN GOD WE TRUST by Stryper (1988)
Enigma Records  |  D1-73317

Producers: Michael Lloyd, Stryper

File Under: Glam Metal

Time Capsule-Worthy Track:

Always There For You

Only in Stryper World could a certified Gold album be considered a disappointment.

In God We Trust sold over half a million copies, earning gold record status. It reached #32 on the general market album chart. Two singles from the project made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart, quite a feat for any Christian rock band at the time. The album received two GMA Dove Awards (which was amazing, considering the fact that only two decades earlier, Dove Awards were handed out for things like Best New Quartet and Favorite Bass or Tenor Singer, things like that). And yet, somehow In God We Trust was considered a step backward for the band that one reviewer described as "four bumblebees that got into a can of Aqua Net."

Michael, Robert, Tim and Oz had exploded onto the scene in 1984. Christian rock would never be the same again. This glam-metal quartet in big hair, makeup and spandex quickly demolished conventions and pushed barriers to their outer limits with their debut, a 6-song EP titled The Yellow and Black Attack. With a bigger budget, the music became more sophisticated. Their reputation grew with the sophomore release, 1985's Soldiers Under Command. The upward trajectory continued in 1987 with a mega-successful, platinum-selling, MTV-embraced record called To Hell With the Devil. Worldwide fame ensued. Two years later, Stryper would record In God We Trust, an album that Michael Sweet says was their most polished album yet.

Michael Sweet

"As our popularity grew larger, our budgets did too," Sweet said in a 2019 social media post. "We had more money to spend on recording so we did just that. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make [In God We Trust]. Due to having more money, we took more time to track it. We layered and layered and unfortunately lost the rawness in the process. I also got really sick during the recording and had to really work through it. I often wonder if it would have been our biggest and most popular album had it been a little less produced like the others."

He's right about the layering. It was all just a little too much. Too many stacked vocals...too many forgettable melodies...and too much pop, not enough metal. But In God We Trust wasn't all bad. It had its moments.

The title track became an iconic Stryper song that opened with a clever lyrical idea...

It's been said money talks 
If so what does it say? 
Four simple words we see every day

But from there, the lyrics became very simplistic...

In God we trust 
In Him we must believe 
(He is the only way) 
In God we trust 
His Son we must receive 
(Tomorrow's too late, accept Him today)

Of course, Stryper and simplistic lyrics went together like macaroni and cheese, so that was no big surprise.

Always There For You occupies the #2 hole on this album and it's one of my all-time favorite Stryper songs. It does suffer somewhat from God-As-My-Girlfriend syndrome (along with a few other tracks on this record), but the song just clicks. And it works equally as well lyrically as a pledge from God to us that He will never leave us nor forsake us or as a song from an earthly friend or lover promising loyalty and fidelity. Either way, it's a positive, uplifting message. It's also a great musical and vocal performance, and it's got a hook that stays in your head for hours at a time.

Oh - and in the video for Always There For You (linked below) it is revealed that Stryper had their own helicopter. Their own freakin' helicopter. 

Keep the Fire Burning has a more traditional Stryper sound and song structure (as if anything about this band could be called traditional). I'll say it this way: Keep the Fire Burning could've been included on Soldiers Under Command or To Hell With The Devil and it would've felt right at home. 

I Believe in You was a stereotypical hold-your-lighter-up-and-sway-to-the-music love ballad. Unfortunately, it was a collection of generic phrases like:
Then you came into my life and gave your love to me...In my heart you'll stay...And I believe in you through and through...Always and forever it will be You and me together...You're the only one that fills my heart and I love you more and more everyday... you get the idea.

Side One of In God We Trust concludes with The Writing's On The Wall, a hyper-evangelistic song that harkens back to the band's earlier days. This song is about as subtle as a Donald Trump tweet. 

The truth is right before you 
Don't refuse it 
No matter what you've been through 
He can change it cause
He is our God, Creator of all 
Unless you accept Him, you'll continue to fall 
The battle is real, on you He will call 
So don't ever wait because the writing's on the wall
Just look around and 
You will see confusion 
The God that Stryper serves 
Is no delusion

The tempo picks up quite a bit here and some nice, twin guitar harmonies are heard.

It should also be noted that several times throughout this record Michael Sweet unexpectedly soars into the stratosphere and suddenly hits vocal notes that make my nuts hurt. And he nails it every time. So there's that.

Michael Sweet also served as the principal songwriter for this album. His brother Robert helped out with the title track, and Oz Fox wrote a couple of songs on Side Two. Michael penned everything else. 

Additional musicians for In God We Trust included Billy Meyers and John Van Tongeren on keys, Steve Croes on the synclavier, and Brad Cott on bass. The album was produced by Michael Lloyd and the band; it was engineered by Dan Nebanzal and Carmine Rubino. Bob Vogt, Brian Scheuble, Charlie Brocco, Dave Deavalon, Gary Myersburg, Jeff DeMorris, Mark McKenna, Mike Bosley, Robert Hart, and Scott Gordon - ten dudes - all served as assistant engineers. ("Here's your problem right here...")

The album cover was, like most Stryper covers, just over the top. The hair and makeup were ridiculous...and if it weren't for his chest hair, you would've sworn that Robert Sweet was a flat-chested girl with a Farrah Fawcett hairdo on steroids. He was just too pretty to be a dude. Patrick Pending was the art director and the photos were taken by Neil Zlozower and Anne Revenge. The design concept came from the band. 

In God We Trust was mastered by Bernie Grundman and mixed by Carmine Rubino, Dan Nebenzal, Michael Lloyd, and Stryper. Jeff DeMorris and Robert Hart assisted with the mixing of the album.

The record was released on Enigma and was distributed by Capitol and Benson. It was recorded at A&M Studios, Cherokee Studios, Amigo Studios, and The Village Recorder.

Side Two opens with a stacked-vocals rocker that had to have been written with live performances in mind since Michael Sweet spends a good bit of time during this song imploring the listener to put his or her hands up in the air and move to the rhythm. Total sing-along song for arena shows. The song title was It's Up 2 U. Replacing words with numbers or capital letters happened a lot in the 80s. And yes, it was annoying. Maybe not so much at the time, but definitely now.

The World of You and I (which I think, technically, should be The World of You and Me...but I digress) is a mid-tempo love song with more vocal harmonies stacked on top of vocal harmonies. Lyrically, it sounds like a collection of pick-up lines...

We can have what everybody dreams about 

We can say hello and never say goodbye 

Love can last forever without any doubt 
In the world of you and I

The Oz Fox-penned Come to the Everlife is up next. More stacked vocals abound, causing the actual melody line to sort of get obscured (this is the case with 2 or 3 other songs on this album as well). Come to the Everlife has an up-front evangelistic message. Listening to it again for the first time in quite a while, I can't decide if it's an invitation to faith in Christ...

You don't have to lose, you just have to choose 
Just call on His name, you won't be the same 
Lift your hearts up today 
Put your troubles away
Peace and harmony found 
Love will be all around 

...or an expectation of Jesus' sudden return.

No sorrow, no pain
New bodies to gain 
Come with me tonight 
Come to the everlife 
We will see new life in the sky

At least one blogger/music critic said that if you were going to skip over one song from In God We Trust, Come To The Everlife should be the one. 

Lonely is another ballad that pulls double duty as a song that could be about the Lord or a lady friend. 

Once upon a lonely night 
Emptiness filled my heart 
And I realized my life wasn't right
Then I called upon your name 
And I just want to say
I was lonely, lost without your love 
Sad and lonely without you 
You're the only one that I'll ever love 
I need you

All I'll ever need is you 
Cause you are everything 
I've never seen a love that's so true 
The search is over now for me and forever more 
And I'll never have to be lonely anymore

There are a few lines that lead me to think Sweet is talking about a relationship with God. However, one online reviewer wrote about being happy that Lonely was not "overtly religious" and was without "Biblical overtones." So I guess the song did its job. That's sort of the point with the God-As-My-Girlfriend genre...the listener just hears whatever he wants to hear in it, right?

In God We Trust ends with a driving metal track titled The Reign that suffers from a melody line that's not memorable at all. Lyrically, this Fox-penned tune is more akin to standard Christian rock fare from the 80s. The up-front message is that Jesus (King of kings and Lord of all) satisfies while fame and materialism do not.

At the end of the day, it's not that In God We Trust was a subpar album. It just had a really tough act to follow. I guess it's hard to top a multi-hit, platinum-selling record. Most bands will never know if it's difficult or not.

It's also a victim of the times. Shimmering, polished, over-produced pop/metal albums were definitely a thing in the late 80s. One blogger described all of the overdubbing and stacking on In God We Trust as "pure gluttony." Called it an "overly-slick, soulless sound drunk on its own technological hubris." But he admitted that a LOT of other metal bands were doing the same thing at the time. So much so that - one guy's theory - it only took one album to single-handedly push heavy metal into the cultural abyss for good - Nirvana's Nevermind. 

A reviewer at Encyclopaedia Metallum who goes by the name 'greenberger' says that In God We Trust actually had some pretty strong songs on it and wondered how much better tunes like Always There For You and Keep the Fire Burning would sound "on a much more stripped-down record, devoid of all the glitz and flash." He does give the band props, however, for "sticking to their overtly-Christian message in the face of commercial stardom. Insane or not, these guys did not sell their souls to the devil for some fame and fortune, that's for sure. How many other bands can claim the same?"

Greenberger continues: "In the final Stryper analysis, In God We Trust is more a product of the machine than a work of artistic expression, but it shows that the band still had talent. They just didn't know what to do with it, but neither did any of their metal pals. It's a worthy example of what was happening to heavy metal - and America's pop culture - at the end of the 1980s, and a fun nostalgic trip back to the days of big hair." 

At the dawn of the 1990s, commercial rock radio began to change, although most of us failed to notice much at the time. In God We Trust had gone gold and Stryper had hit the road for another major world tour. But, looking back, it was to be their last hurrah. Against the Law would see the band experience a falling away of sorts, scrambling to stay relevant and burned out spiritually from too many miles and too much stardom. 

The guys were very transparent with HM magazine about the band's spiritual condition and other negative issues in the early 90s. Timothy Gaines admitted to bouts with alcoholism, said he was basically broke due to lawsuits, and felt that he'd been typecast and blackballed as a result of his time with Stryper. Oz Fox basically portrayed himself and his mates as hypocrites. "There was sin in the band," Fox admitted, "and the reason it was happening is that we didn't know the Lord like we should have. I can't speak for the other guys but my heart was focused on wanting to be a rock star." 

"Looking back, it wasn't a pretty sight," lamented Michael Sweet. "We were living the same lifestyle off stage that we were condemning on stage." 

Stryper in 2019

Stryper eventually disbanded and Michael Sweet went off on a solo tangent...and even fronted Boston for a while. The other guys spent time in bands like Sin Dizzy and King James. But the band has since reformed and has released no fewer than ten recordings since 2004. There's been some drama regarding original bassist Tim Gaines (who has either quit or been fired - again - depending on who you believe). But Stryper seems re-born and re-energized. In fact, they'll be coming to my hometown in another month or so. My son and I will be there. 

I'll be the guy yelling, "Play Always There For You!" between songs. 

#272 ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO by The Archers (1984)

ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO by The Archers (1984)
Light Records | LS 5869

Producers:

Skip Konte, Tim Archer & Steve Archer

File Under: CCM/Pop

Time Capsule-Worthy Track:

All Systems Are Go

Not long ago, I went down a seemingly endless rabbit hole of Osmond family videos on YouTube. They're all there - the brothers, Donny & Marie, little Jimmy, the whole family. You can watch clips of their U.K. tours and their Saturday morning cartoon...interviews and documentaries...even full episodes of The Dony & Marie Show, The Osmond Family Show, their Vegas and Branson shows, and much more. Which got me to thinking...

Were The Archers our Osmonds? 

I think they were. Well, sort of. On a smaller scale, of course. But there really were many similarities. The Osmonds and The Archers were both family groups who pushed boundaries and were genre-benders. They were good looking people with Pepsodent smiles and hair for days. Donny Osmond was a heartthrob for lots of little girls in the early 70s...and Steve Archer had a similar effect on Christian girls back in the day. Janice Archer, like Marie Osmond, started singing with her brothers well after the group was established but managed to attract new fans (and turned the heads of quite a number of teenaged Christian boys). Both groups had television shows. Both groups were known for wholesome living and a somewhat safe and tame approach to rock and roll, causing moms and dads to feel entirely comfortable. And both groups eventually suffered a bit in the PR department for not seeming "hip" enough anymore (music ministry can be just as fickle as the music business). But both families are fondly remembered and appreciated today for the mark they made and the happiness they spread with their music.

The Archer Brothers: Steve, Tim and older brother Gary

The Archers were not street people. They weren't hippies. They were Assemblies of God pastor's kids who received a boost when they came in second nationally in a talent competition sponsored by their denomination. 

Tim & Steve Archer with their "Teen Talent" trophy

So they put a group together and started playing youth concerts and church services. They eventually added a female vocalist and adjusted their name from Archer Brothers to simply The Archers. 

The Archers with Nancye Short, guitarist Billy Masters, and drummer Tim Short

They landed a record deal with Impact, making them labelmates with the Imperials. Songs like Jesus is the Answer and Little Flowers got them noticed. A slot in front of 250,000 people at Explo '72 really got them noticed. 

They came to the attention of Andrae Crouch, Pat Boone, and Ralph Carmichael and ended up signing with Light Records. The initial result was a huge hit titled It Wouldn't Be Enough. 

L-R: Steve Archer, Ralph Carmichael, Nancye Short, Tim Archer

The Archers have always had wide appeal, but they were initially considered a "Jesus Music" group and were marketed primarily to teenagers. "A youth music festival is hardly complete without The Archers," Ralph Carmichael gushed. "Kids love them, and they love kids!"

The hair, the glasses, the bell bottoms...groovy, baby!

Steve, Janice & Tim

In 1977, little sister Janice joined her older brothers and The Archers would be a biologically related trio from that point on. They made a monster of a record called Fresh Surrender in 1977, which contained 7 or 8 hit songs. The well-received Stand Up! rounded out the 70s, and it was a decade that had been very good to The Archers. Highlights included gigs at the White House, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. 

At the White House

They picked up in the 80s where they had left off in the 70s. The new decade brought with it a Grammy Award and performances on the Grammy TV broadcast for two years in a row. Not bad for a trio of A/G preacher's kids from northern California. A live album was released in 1980 and Spreadin' Like Wildfire came along in 1981. But it wasn't until about three years later that The Archers would release another full-length LP, due most likely to the fact that Steve Archer had kicked off a solo career/ministry with projects of his own in 1982 and 1983. The next Archers album was titled All Systems Are Go. It would be the last album from the talented siblings until 1991.

I remember playing the title track on the radio. It's a pop-rock anthem about the Second Coming, and it including samples of actual NASA radio communication from a Space Shuttle launch. Outstanding guitar solo by Bob Somma on that one. 

Do you read? This is ground control
Departure time is near
And soon, you and I are leaving here 

Now approaching the zero hour
The final countdown's on
Look up! Any day now we'll be gone

All systems are go, all systems are go...


Get Ready, Get Right was a funky little number that was also about the return of Christ and featured some close sibling harmony. Both All Systems Are Go and Get Ready Get Right were heavy on electronic drums (Simmons?) demonstrating that The Archers intended to keep pace with current musical trends. 

Don't Let It was a synth-drenched rocker with more great Bob Somma guitar work and those electronic drum sounds front and center. "That's my little rock and roll song," said Tim Archer.

The Archers always seemed to understand the value of surrounding themselves with A-list studio musicians. Dating all the way back to 1975's Things We Deeply Feel, they made excellent use of first-call session players such as Leland Sklar, Lee Ritenour, Larry Muhoberac, Jim Keltner, Dave Hungate, Carl Marsh, Gary Lunn, John Patitucci, Keith Edwards, and many others. One reason the Archers' albums often sounded so good in comparison to the albums of some of their peers was the quality of the instrumentation. All Systems Are Go was no exception to that rule.

What's It Gonna Take and Winning Again were typical of the smooth, polished, radio-ready pop for which The Archers were known. These songs were greatly enhanced by John Andrew Schreiner's keyboard work and Albert Wing's saxophone.

Getting back to the Osmonds...Heaven in Your Eyes was a pop ballad sung by Tim and Janice that sounded, musically, just exactly like something Donny & Marie could've recorded. But the subject matter was being an effective Christian witness.

There is a mirror, and it's deep in your eyes 
Always reflecting out the love you have inside 
When others look at you, what will they find 
To mend up their broken hearts
And free their troubled minds? 

Let the world see heaven in your eyes 
Show them love that they can't deny 
Let the world see heaven in your eyes 
Heaven in your eyes 

While Tim Archer was listed in the credits as executive producer, Tim and his brother Steve shared the producer credit with Skip Konte (who also engineered the album). Konte played keyboards for Blues Image and Three Dog Night. All Systems Are Go was recorded at Front Page Productions in Costa Mesa, California. It was arranged by Herb Jamerson and mastered by Bernie Grundman.

The songs My Hope (a solo MOR ballad by Janice) and the funky Walk Like He Walks express a theme of wanting to be more like Jesus. Tim Archer has been known to say that Walk Like He Walks would've made a great 80s Christian skate night song down at your local roller rink.

The album closes with six and a half minutes of pure delight. Classical orchestration gives way to Tim, Steve and Janice reminding us of James Chapter 1...that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father. And that our Father never tempts us to do wrong. If this song wasn't a huge Christian radio hit, it should've been.  

Every good and perfect gift 
Comes down from the Father 

Let no man say when he is tempted, 
"I am tempted, tempted by God" 
For God tempts no one 
God tempts no one with evil

Now, about that futuristic album cover...we have to talk about the leather outfits. Let's just say that Janice was rocking hers and the guys looked a little embarrassed to even be at the photo shoot. But hey...it was really cool at the time...now, not so much. Craig Incardone took the photos, the supremely talented Kernie Erickson was responsible for the art direction and illustration, and Bob Payne handled the sleeve design. 

Oh...and Craig DePhillippi styled the hair. Yes, he was listed in the credits. After all, this was the 1980s.

One more Osmonds comparison: All Systems Are Go helped land The Archers their first TV show. It was also called All Systems Are Go and aired on TBN (the Trinity Broadcasting Network). Sadly, the All Systems Are Go Tour would be the group's final tour with a live band, as Steve Archer's solo career began to take off (no pun intended). But the Archers certainly enjoyed greater longevity than most pioneering Jesus Music groups, recording charting hits in the decades of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.

They would reunite for one more studio effort together in 1991, a project titled Colors of Your Love, produced by the late, great Jonathan David Brown. True to form, the album yielded a Top 20 hit.

Steve, Janice, and Tim occupy a warm place in the hearts of contemporary Christian music lovers the world over. They continue to minister, singing and/or speaking and sharing a Christ-centered message wherever doors are open. As I write this blog post, many of the group's best records are available for download at www.timarchermusic.com/downloads. Drop by and say hi.

#273 GOD RULES by Undercover (1983)

GOD RULES by Undercover (1983)
A&S Records | A&S0005

Producers:

Dan Willard and Joey Taylor

File Under: New Wave/Punk Rock

Time Capsule-Worthy Track:

God Rules

"It sounds like Honey, I Shrunk The Cars." That's how one blogger described this album.

Here are a few other words and phrases I found on the internet that are used to describe God Rules by Undercover:

"Giddy new wave." "Sugary as bubble gum and with just as much pop." "Zippy little keyboard-driven numbers with hiccuping percussion." "Chipper." "Sticky-sweet." "Hooky." "Catchy." "Simple three-chord stuff." "New wavish, poppy post-punk Jesus rock." One reviewer said it was just "goofy enough to be endearing."

Joey "Ojo" Taylor and James "Gym" Nicholson formed Undercover in the early 1980s. Based out of Fullerton, California and affiliated with Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, the band began as pogo-stick pop-rockers and became a punk outfit before finally transitioning into a darker, alternative rock band credited with inspiring a new generation of Christian modern/alternative rock groups (sometimes referred to as the Third Wave of artists to be birthed in the Christian rock music scene).

According to the band's Wikipedia page, Undercover's early years were characterized by "high-energy anthems, rebellious themes, and short, three-chord songs." "Mohawk hairstyles, tattoos, and torn jeans" were the preferred look at that time, and the band's albums contained punk versions of traditional hymns and youth group choruses, shouted vocals and simple, direct lyrics. Very simple. Like, at times, laughably simple...

Jesus
Jesus
Jesus
Jesus

Jesus for me, for me
For me, for me

Those are the lyrics - all of the lyrics - for a song called Jesus For Me.

How about a track titled His Love...

His love has set me free
His love delivered me
His love stays, won’t leave
He lives inside of me

His love – well, it made me
His love – and it saved me
His love – it’s all around me
His love, His love

His love
His love
His love
His love

Or this one called Jesus Girl...

She jumps and shouts for Jesus, she loves Jesus
She keeps her eyes on Jesus, on her Jesus
And when she jumps and shouts, her eyes are on the Lord
Well, she’s a Christian, yeah, but she’s never bored

And she’s a Jesus girl, oh yeah, (oh yeah, oh yeah)
Well, she’s a J-J-Jesus girl (oh yeah, oh yeah)
She’s a Jesus girl

Nothing wrong with Jesus girls. I wish the world was full of more Jesus girls. But let's face it...the lyrics on this record were about as deep as a plastic kiddie pool. 

And for many, that's part of the charm of God Rules. Not only did they not shy away from matters of faith, they were cheerleaders with clear, direct songs that championed that faith. And we didn't have to sweat and strain and swallow hard trying to figure out what we thought the band might be trying to say. Sometimes that's refreshing.

No interviewer ever asked Ojo Taylor, "What exactly were you trying to get across in the song He Takes Care Of Me? What's that song about?" Yeah, it was pretty clear, I'd say. Painfully simple...but clear!

I have a car, but it won’t go very far
But I don’t care, ‘cause I can talk to Jesus anywhere

I can’t buy a three-piece suit and tie
I don’t mind ‘cause Jesus had only one robe when he died

I don’t own a nice two-bedroom home
But that’s okay, ‘cause I’ve always got a place to stay

Loving God makes me a happy boy
I never need anything, because…because…
I never need anything, because he takes care of me
He takes care of me

There ya go. Just a plain and simple re-stating of Jesus' words in Matthew 6:25-34.

Not to belabor the point, but some of the songs read almost like a children's book. I could almost see the lyrics of Jesus Is The Best in a Dr. Seuss book...

Jesus is the best
He’s better than the rest
Go on, put Him to the test
You’ll see He’s the best

Jesus is the most
He rules from coast to coast
I need another dose
My Jesus is the most

Now He is the King over everything
Call Him on the phone – ring, ring
He can change anything
Have you heard the latest?
Jesus is the greatest

But Undercover seemed to be the right band in the right place with the right message at the right time. It just worked. In the words J. Edward Keyes: "Where punk peers like the Altar Boys seemed hellbent on storming the gates with torches, Undercover made Christianity sound like a children’s show, with a bounce castle and a ball pit and communion wafers that tasted like Cherry Pez." 

"One thing’s for sure," wrote the blogger at The One Hundred list, "the band didn’t hide its light under a bushel, but proudly and loudly proclaimed that God not only rules, but also rocks!"

At the time of God Rules, Undercover consisted of Joey Taylor (credited as O-Joe) on keyboards and bass, Jim "Gym" Nicholson on guitars, Gary Olson on drums, and Bill Walden (listed as 'B') on lead vocals and tenor sax.

God Rules was produced by Dan Willard and Joey Taylor and was recorded at Whitefield Studios. Dan Willard was also credited as the album's engineer.

The album's cover and sleeve had a bit of a punk aesthetic on display. A peach background with streaks of pink and purple, complete with the name of Jesus hidden (sort of) in the artwork. Part graffiti/part finger paint/part school art project. It's been said that the cover matches the mood of the music contained inside.

The album's art directer was listed as "Al X."...which actually referred to the multi-talented Alex MacDougall. The typography was credited to Joe Christian - actually the legendary Rick Griffin. [Did no one want to be associated with this record? Just wondering why so many aliases were used in the credits.] Gary Delacy worked on the album design, while Camille Krischak served as an illustrator and photographs were taken by Wes Covina and Scott Lockwood.

Pastor Chuck Smith

Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (and friend of Jesus freaks everywhere) was given a shout-out in the special thanks. In his blog An Atheist's Guide to Christian Rock, J. Edward Keyes shared his opinion that Undercover's connection to Calvary Chapel was crucial. "The church," Keyes wrote, "as unbelievable as it sounds, was kind of the Gilman Street of the Christian punk community, generating scores of tradition-breaking bands...it wasn’t just a scene, it was a movement..."

The album's title track got away from the happy pogo-pop stuff a little bit. It would forever be a signature song for Undercover and pointed in the direction the band would travel next. This was less new wave, more punk rock... 

1, 2, 3, 4!

Last time water, this time fire
The day is getting down to the wire
I’ve heard Jesus mocked and now I’m tired
God is true and men are liars

Jesus helps me day and night
He took my sins and flushed them right outta here
The devil lost the fight
Jesus won with power and might

There’s more to life than getting stoned 
And sitting in the twilight zone
He is coming to take us home
Don’t be left here all alone

God rules! God rules!
God rules! God rules!
Hey – God rules!

Along with Daniel Amos, The Choir, the 77s and Adam Again, Undercover would influence many other aspiring bands in the Christian modern rock/alternative scene. Their music would eventually take a darker, more introspective turn. 

It's been said that Joey "Ojo" Taylor would begin to steer the band through dark, nuanced works about doubt and loss. I think I remember reading years ago that Taylor's divorce had much to do with the tone of subsequent albums and his depressed emotional state.

Any time Undercover is discussed, the elephant in the room is the fact that "Ojo" now says he's an atheist. I won't spend a lot of time on that topic here. 

Taylor's own lyric from God Rules:
I've heard Jesus mocked and now I'm tired / God is true and men are liars.

#irony

By the way, don't try to discuss faith or politics with Taylor via social media (unless you have Trump Derangement Syndrome). He will block you, as many Undercover fans have discovered. I guess that's what atheists do when they are secure in their "logic" and "reason."

The other band members seem to still be Christ followers (Bill's a Calvary Chapel pastor) and are reported to maintain friendly relationships with Taylor, so, hey...you never know. Pray for him. And pray for his students (he teaches music-related courses at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia).

An Undercover reunion show in California a few years back

At the end of the day, this album is remembered fondly as a celebration of faith. What it lacked in eloquence was made up for in exuberance.

To quote J. Edward Keyes one more time: "As a snapshot of surf-loving Jesus kids playing beach volleyball in the California sun, it’s hard to match the all-smiles enthusiasm of God Rules."