![]() The Christian left (not to mention the secular left) blame the decline of American Christianity on the religious right’s conservative politics and the church’s numerous abuse scandals. The American Christian left and right tend to have different general explanations for the decline in church attendance and the rise of the “nones” (people who don’t identify with any particular religious tradition), each of which conveniently centers their church’s tradition as the solution to the problem. “More people have left the church in the past 25 years than all the new people who became Christians from the First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening and Billy Graham Crusades combined.” This, according to the authors of “The Great Dechurching,” is a problem, even if you don’t consider yourself religious, because the church is so key to undergirding social trust, community bonding, shared values and care for the poor. READ: Inside Margaret Sayers’ ‘Lest We Forget: A Christian Response To Dementia ’ According to a new book, “The Great Dechurching,” we are in for the biggest drop in religious attendance in history, a trend that began in the mid-1990s. ![]() The debate has heated up a lot with a recent report that, if trends continue, Christianity will be in “irreversible decline” within a few generations. The issue of church decline has been a topic of deep discussion in American Christian circles for a very long time. ![]() That being said, it was great to take a trip down memory lane and look back on the first 20 years of one of the most influential rock groups of all time.(REVIEW) “The Great Dechurching” is a groundbreaking new book that should redefine how we talk about the reasons behind - and potential solutions to - the decline in American church attendance, even if its proposed solutions miss the forest for the trees. And the hand drums (and accompanying tropical feel) just seem more out of place on the first set than on the second. The band’s softer sounds, particularly on Out of Time, make the acoustic sets not all that different from the studio recordings. It rounds out the band’s catalog but doesn’t serve as a foundational piece. aficionado this unplugged collection is a very nice bonus but sadly not a must-have. Some of R.E.M.’s later work also works well with the acoustic treatment, including “Daysleeper” and “I’ll Take The Rain.”Īs an unabashed R.E.M. It’s ironic that the climax of the 2001 show are two tracks from Out of Time. It immediately follows “Losing My Religion” on the setlist and the one-two stomach punch of these songs is undeniable. Hidden on Out of Time is another quality deep cut by the name of “Country Feedback.” I have a feeling this may be a divisive R.E.M. It’s more straightforward and that plays to the song’s inherent strengths. You would think that after 10 years of playing the damn song the guys would grow tired of it but this acoustic version crackles with life. “Losing My Religion” finds itself as a part of both performances, but the latter version is just plain better. ![]() “World Leader Pretend” concludes the first concert on a high note – I gained a new appreciation for this track after hearing this rendition.Īh, but the 2001 concert shines in comparison to its somewhat dull predecessor. emotionality that comes through well in this format. These latter two songs stand out from this performance because of their novelty to a long-time listener of R.E.M. Tracks not included on previous albums like “Fretless” and “Rotary 11” also show up. The 1991 Unplugged concert did not stick to an Out of Time redux, but rather includes tracks from their first album Murmur (“Perfect Circle”) Document and Green are well-represented too. Deep cuts like “Disturbance at the Heron House” and “Sad Professor” make appearances. The tracklist is surprisingly robust with a total of 33 songs. So you’d think that the gem here would be the 1991 part of this collection. Stipe, Mills, and Buck settled into the veteran rock band routine and failed to recapture the magic of their music from 1987 to 1992. released five albums and lost Bill Berry, their long-time drummer. The 1991 concert captures an ascendant band that was about to hit its apex in the popular culture. 1991 was the year Out of Time was released, which would be followed up the next year with the band’s seminal album Automatic For The People. These took place in 19 and a lot happened in those ten years for the band. Of its highs with this unplugged collection.Īlbum Review: To commemorate Record Store Day 2014, Rhino released a four-LP collection of R.E.M.’s two MTV Unplugged performances. Unplugged: 1991 & 2001 – The Complete Sessions ![]()
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