Child of the Same God
Artist    Bill Madden     
Label    MadMuse 

What's going on here
With tribe against tribe
Religion being used 
To control and divide
What's going on when
Did dogma become truth
And when did a belief
Become an absolute
Old superstitions like 
Opinions so hard held
Cling to the minds of those
Too weak to think for themselves
May God's grace guide our way
May God's grace guide our way
We're all one
Child of the same God 

Today, in a culture of divisiveness, intolerance, and ideologues, Bill Madden's Child of the Same God, is a welcome addition to the storm.  Madden clearly operates from the fires of Genesis in their heyday when Peter Gabriel elevated them to a groundbreaking style.   Madden has the same fresh glow in the arrangements, the solid instrumentation and thoughtful lyrics, inspired by his faith.  The lyrics draw on a worldview that is spiritual and politically from the left.  But most of the material transcends this when he sings of his own weaknesses and the insights into the foibles of the society around him.  
 
The songs are about the vulnerability of those who walk this unique path, as in the opening song lifted from the great poet, Robert Frost, "The Road Less Taken."    The stand out track on the album is the title song.   He asks, "When did dogma become truth?"  Then he concludes, even through our differences we walk on common ground, "May God's grace guide our way/We are all one/Children of the same God."   While the style has the Gabriel influence, it is just that, influence, not imitation. He has found his own voice and an original path for his spiritual journey.  His press materials give little hint as to his defined faith.  In this he moves in the political and mystic base of an artist like Bruce Cockburn.    When you take Madden's _Road Less Traveled_ don't be surprised if you find yourself engaged and absorbed in the musical texture, lyrical vulnerability and unique perspective on the Christian walk.  

Terry Roland