“Love is they Way” featuring Lucy Stimpson recorded and produced by John Hodgkinson and also Bob Ross
“Out of the Depths” featuring Lucy Stimpson from second Mustard Seed album “Love is the Way”
The Christian music magazine “Cross Rhythms” had this to say about Mustard Seed Songs’ second album “Love is the Way”
There is an air of dignity about Lucy Stimpson and this album of praise with beautiful vocals, tinkling pianos and soothing synthesisers that steers clear of lounge bar music, evoking genuine pathos. There is an old fashioned church- like holiness that proves poignant and its endeavours should appeal to both old and young alike with the proceeds of all sales going to support Christian missionary work by young people. At times almost angelic sounding, there is a hymn – like passion that is almost angelic sounding.
So obviously God was blessing the music big time!!
The album contained some songs that I had “converted” from the pop songs I had written earlier, however the majority of the songs were new ones such as “Great and Marvellous” (see blog June 5th) “You are the Shepherd of my Soul” and “Oh Lord by Praise” God just kept inspiring me with more and more tunes and here is the story behind another one on the album – “Out of the Depths.”
I was driving home from Waverley House, Farnham, the HQ of Crusade for World Revival (CWR) the publishers of “Every Day with Jesus” (more about that in a later blog) when I found a tune come into my head. It was a fast tune with verse and chorus and I was really excited as I felt it was an especially good melody (it had to be coming from God!) However, unlike a lot of the songs I had written the lyrics did not come with the tune so I just stored it away in my head for use at a future time.
In 2000 I was just about to go into a cinema in London’s Leicester Square with my 15 year old son Chris when I received a phone call. It was truly horrible news saying that Richard, one of Chris’s best friends, had just died. The film obviously had to be missed as I took Chris away into some nearby gardens to tell him the tragic news- as you can imagine he was heartbroken. About that time a Russian nuclear -powered submarine “Kursk” sunk in the Barents Sea and never came up -all on board were lost. The newspapers had photographs of the mothers of the Russian submariners and their faces were etched with anguish. I felt that I had to write a song to try and describe their pain and also that of Richard’s friends and family. I searched through those Psalms that are Laments – prayers in which the writers poured out their hearts in times of personal or national distress. From Psalm 6 and 130 I took the words –Out of the depths I cry out to you oh Lord – wont You please hear me do not hide your face. My soul is in anguish it pleads why oh why Lord, I’m worn out from groaning I’m drenched in my tears. Save me with Your unfailing love all my hope rests in Your hand I put my trust in You my rock though so much I do not understand.
So the Psalms were the source for the lyrics but I had no tune – or did I? The song I had been given on my return from Waverley Abbey had a tempo that was too fast for “Out of the Depths” – but what would happen if I slowed it down? In fact the song slowed down perfectly for the verse starting “Out of the Depths I cry out to You” and also for the chorus of “Save Me with Your unfailing love.” So the song was born and of course Lucy Stimpson arranged and sang it beautifully.
The song is now a part of Mustard Seeds’ new musical Risen! It is sung directly after Jesus’ crucifixion. Lucy’s version is featured in today’s blog.
The title of the album “Love is the Way” actually came before I had written the song. My dear friend Mr Bob Milliken (Mr Mill) suggested the title – but more of that next week.