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rez

Rez also known as Rez Band or Resurrection Band, are a Christian rock band that was formed in 1972 and comprising vocalists Glenn and Wendi Kaiser, guitarist/keyboard player Stu Heiss, bassist Roy Montroy and drummer John Herrin. They were based out of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago, Illinois, and most of its members continue to be part of that community to this day. The band has released close to twenty studio albums since then plus a few live albums and compilations. Their first demo/album was called "Music to Raise the Dead." They are known for their blend of blues-rock and hard rock. They are also credited as one of the forerunners of the Christian metal genre. Guitarist/vocalist Glenn Kaiser has recorded several solo projects outside of Rez, including Mansfield, Howard, Kaiser.

1. "Intro" (:41)
2. "Waves" (2:57)
3. "Awaiting Your Reply" (4:09)
4. "Broken Promises" (6:57)
5. "Golden Road" (4:57)
6. "Lightshine" (5:21)
7. "Ananias and Sapphira" (2:58)
8. "Death of the Dying" (3:19)
9. "Irish Garden" (4:51)
10. "The Return" (3:53)
11. "Outro" (:06)
12. "Midnight Son" (3:16)
13. "Strongman" (3:41)
14. "Africaans" (3:10)
15. "Skyline" (3:10)
16. "Paint a Picture" (4:47)
17. "Rainbow's End" (3:47)
18. "Concert for a Queen" (3:16)
19. "Sacrifice of Love" (3:03)
20. "The Wolf Song" (3:14)
21. "Everytime It Rains" (4:46)

Two of Rez's earliest albums on one disc. This was a cool find. The music is early 70's hard rock with lots of blues influences. Both of these albums are actually better than some of their late 70's and early 80's albums. A few songs are reminiscent of early Led Zeppelin.

1. "Autograph" (4:02)
3. "N.Y.C." (4:59)
4. "Hidden Man" (3:23)
5. "Amazing" (2:49)
6. "American Dream" (2:22)
7. "Benny & Sue" (3:21)
8. "City Streets" (3:23)
9. "Beggar In The Alleyway" (3:57)
10. "The Struggle" (3:47)

A classic record from one of Christian rocks most respected band. There are plenty of great moments here, but without a doubt my favorite song is "The Struggle" which is musically and lyrically one of Rez's finest songs ever. However, the entire CD is a giant step forward from the two albums that proceeded it. I actually prefer this album to more popular albums like "Between Heaven & Hell" and "D.M.Z.". In the mid-80's Rez were beginning to experiment a bit with the new wave sound, whereas on "Colors" they stick to hard rock.

Rez also recorded a stellar live version of "The Struggle" on their "Twenty Years" CD.

One of the few great, early, classic hard rock albums from a Christian band. Christian bands that rocked this hard and were of this caliber just didn't exist in 1981. "Elevator Muzik" and "Alienated" are heavy rockers with some smokin' guitar work. "The Chair" is easily one of the best tracks on the album. It is simply an outstanding song that morphs back and forth from heavy guitar riffs to those haunting acoustic guitars. The title song is an emotional song was written from a child's point of view who sees his family life disintegrating and was written out of Glenn Kaiser's personal experience. "Lovin' You" was a glimpse into what direction Rez would be taking on their next couple albums. It seems that Rez felt the need to 'stay relevant' and thus started adapting to the quickly growing 80's synth-rock sound. Otherwise, "Mommy Don't Love Daddy" is a solid hard rock album in the Rez catalog. I own this one on CD and vinyl.

1. "Military Man" (3:39)
2. "Reluctance" (2:14)
3. "Babylon" (2:36)
4. "I Need Your Love" (3:24)
5. "Area 312" (3:56)
6. "No Alibi" (4:9)
7. "White Noise" (3:41)
8. "Lonely Hearts" (3:00)
9. "The Prisoner" (2:54)
10. "So In Love With You (3:38)

A friend of mine has been a Rez fan since the early 80's. He considers this disc to be a classic. Well, I guess since this was new to me as of 1995, I don't hold the same esteem. There are a few cool songs, "Military Man" and "White Noise," but otherwise I hardly ever play this one. "DMZ" also features one of the worst album covers of all time.

The standout cut on "Between Heaven 'N Hell"is undoubtedly "Shadows". The song oozes emotions and is built around solid guitar work and Glenn Kaiser's gritty and emotional vocals. "Shadows" deals with the issue of suicide, the emotions, the sense of loss or those left behind and our ultimate hope in God. When I was a way in college in the late 1980's, a good friend of mine from high school was found dead in his room. Though some of us believe differently, his death was ruled a suicide. As such, the song "Shadows" really struck a chord with me and even all these years later, the song stirs up those emotions within me.

1. "Silent Screams" (4:11)
2. "You Got Me Rockin'" (3:13)
3. "Someone Sleeps" (5:18)
4. "Waitin' On Sundown" (4:04)
5. "Presence of the Lord" (4:33)
6. "Light/Light" (3:43)
7. "Rain Dance" (5:03)
8. "Every Waking Hour" (4:05)
9. "Three Seconds" (4:36)
10. "You Get What You Choose" (4:30)

It had been three years between releases by the time Rez's studio album "Silent Screams" had been released. In that time the band abandoned completely the trendy pop and new wave sounds that they had been experimenting with and instead delivered an album that was a hybrid mix of blues, hard rock and heavy metal, much like the band's early material. This style would prove to be the sound that the band would continue to follow for years to come. Part of the reason for this was that the band was free from contractual obligations and were free to be their own creative force. Another reason might have been that bassist Roy Montroy was brought in to replace Jim Denton, who left the band to attend seminary. Montroy would become a huge creative force within the band.

"Silent Screams" was about the release that pulled me in and at the time I started really getting into Rez. Though I was intimately familiar with the song "Shadows" from "Between Heaven & Hell", at the time I felt the rest of that album was too cheesy. As a result I never truly gave Rez a listen. However, at this time in my life, I was a fairly new Christian and was desperate for some good Christian music. Growing up loving the hard-n-heavy music of the 70's and 80-'s, stuff like Amy Grant, and even Petra, just didn't cut it. One day I walked into a Christian music store and checked out Rez's "Silent Screams." To my surprise it was a solid slab of blues based hard rock and heavy metal, so I purchased the cassette tape on the spot.

The album opens with the title cut with is a vicious hard rock number with unnerving lyrics, a brilliant hooks and biting guitars. (The song has been covered by Treasure Seeker). Rez were never one to pull punches, and "Silent Screams" is no exception. The band zealously deals with social and spiritual issues such as abortion, racial profiling, greed and terrorism. "Light/Light" is a song featuring the vocals of Wendy Kaiser and is easily one of her best. The song was a concert favorite played by the band up and through the 1990's. "Rain Dance" is an awesome blues rocker with a great message. "Presence of the Lord" is an Eric Clapton cover that the band makes their own.

"Silent Screams" didn't see the critical acclaim or mainstream success that bands like Stryper, Petra or Whiteheart saw, but it is without a doubt one of the finest Christian rock albums ever recorded.

1. "Rooster Crow" (:48)
2. "Alter of Pain" (3:15)
3. "The House is On Fire" (3:25)
4. "80,000 Underground" (3:14)
5. "Fiend or Foul" (7:20)
6. "Where Roses Grow" (7:20)
7. "Right On Time" (5:46)
8. "Child of the Blues" (3:40)
9. "Laughing Man" (3:31)
10. "Bargain" (5:31)
11. "Great God in Heaven" (2:56)

Second killer disc in a row by Rez. This disc is even more blues-based than "Silent Screams," which is apparent immediately by the album opener which is an acoustic blues intro. "Great God in Heaven" is a traditional sounding blues song. Much of the rest of the disc is more blues based heavy metal ("Alter of Pain," "80,000 Underground") or Chicago-style/electric guitar blues rock ("Where Roses Grow," "Child of the Blues"). "Bargain"is a remake of the Who classic. Overall, one of Rez's better albums and probably the disc I have played more than any other.

1. "Lovespeak" (3:29)
2. "Mission Bells" (3:36)
3. "Comatose" (3:13)
4. "Deathmachine" (2:57)
5. "Players" (4:17)
6. "Lincoln's Train" (4:$2)
7. "Hot Footin'" (2:54)
8. "In My Room" (2:44)
9. "Little Jeanie" (4:29)
10. "Footprints" (2:37)
11. "Pauper's Grave" (4:30)
11. "Somebody to Love" (3:01)

Rez's last two discs have been pretty consistent."Civil Rites" continues in the same mode as the last two, although the production gives the album a slightly heavier sound. "Civil Rites" containes less blues-based songs and more heavy metal numbers. Favorite songs are "Lovespeak," "Mission Bells," "Players" and the bluesy "Lincoln's Train." "Somebody to Love" is a Jefferson Airplane song.

1. "Heart's Desire" (3:50)
2. "If Your Love Grows Cold" (3:22)
3. "Numbers" (2:31)
4. "Sunrise" (4:02)
5. "Dead to the World" (4:23)
6. "Reach of Love" (6:04)
7. "Land of Stolen Breath" (4:07)
8. "Mannequin's Dream" (1:30)
9. "Empty Hearts" (3:17)
10. "Thought I'd Never Love Again" (4:09)
11. "White Lies" (3:58)
12. "On My Dyin' Bed" (4:55)
13. "Heart's Desire (Reprise)" (1:03)

Rez knows what they do best, so they haven't messed with the formula in the last four albums. Rez play hard rock with a few blues based numbers, and they do it well. Not since their fatal attempts at new wave a few albums back have they put out a bad album. Must say though that I never gave this one the play time that I gave "Silent Screams," "Innocent Blood" or "Civil Rites."

A fantastic live retrospect of band whose career has spanned two decades at this point. The band performs at least one song from every one of their studio albums as part of this set. The song selection is outstanding and g uitarists Stu Heiss and Glen Kaiser are in fine form on this record. The sound is spectacular as well. In fact, some of these tracks sound better on this live recording than they did on the original studio albums.

'Glenn's Rap" and "Wend's Rap" are not songs, but rather Glenn and Wendi sharing their testimony with the crowd of how God has worked in their lives. "Bargain" is a The Who song, "Somebody to Love" is a Jefferson Airplane song.

I'm not sure why Rez changed their name back to the Resurrection Band. In any case, this is another solid hard rock album, with a slightly more modern edge. This may be because "Lament" was produced by Ty Tabor of King's X . "Summerthrow" even takes on that King's X heavy groove. Despite this, the band still sounds like themselves and have retained some of the bluesy influence that I enjoyed so much in the past. "In Change" is a cool acoustic number with some nice harmonica jams. "Lament" is a good Rez album but the last one I bought for a while. Will eventually fill up the wholes in this collection.

Resurrection Band ‎– Music To Raise The Dead 1972-1998 (Grrr Records) 2008

When it comes to classic Christian hard rock, or classic rock, there are few bands that can stand up against Resurrection Band. Frankly, most of the Christian rock bands from the 70's were rather weak and by the time the 80's rolled around they were even more lightweight until the onset of Christian metal and bands like Saint, Stryper and the like. Rez put their meaningful message up to some intense, heavy rock and roll. Simply put, Rez rocks!

"Music To Raise The Dead 1972-1998" is a 3-CD and 1-DVD box set that chronicles the Resurrection Band (Rez). The band was formed in the early 70's and continued to record and release music through 1998 when they officially broke up, save for some reunion shows at Cornerstone Festival from time to time. Each of the three CDs contains between 3 - 5 songs from each of the band's studio records. Surprisingly there is not a lot of live material included in this collection though a couple tracks from "Live Bootleg" were included at the end of disc three. As well, the unreleased 1974 track "Quite Enough" was released from the band "Music to Raise the Dead" demo. Though I might have liked some rare live recordings, or perhaps some unreleased tracks, they did a fantastic job choosing the songs from the various studio albums. Frankly I wouldn't have minded hearing a few more songs from albums like "Silent Screams" (1988) and "Reach of Love" (1993) which are all some of my favorites from that period of the band's catalog. As well I might have included the bands covers of The Who's "Bargain" and Blind Faith's classic "Presence of the Lord". Both are excellent. However, that probably would have required another CD as there is little I would exclude in favor of those extra tracks. Of the three CDs, my favorite is Disc One as I love the 70's and early 80's period of the band. Albums like "Awaiting Your Reply" and "Rainbow's End" are out-and-out classics that are vastly underrated in the world at large, even if they are held in high regard in Christian circles. The songs have all been remastered and sound fantastic blaring from my speakers.

Disc four is the excellent "XX Years Live Concert" in Chicago, IL. In my opinion Rez has always been better on stage than in the studio. The songs are heavier and played with conviction. That is certainly the case here as well. Also included on the DVD is MTV-style videos for "Crimes" (1985), "Love Comes Down" (1986) and "Surprised" (1995).

The box itself is a modest sleeve made from a heavy paper stock. Each of the four discs comes in their own mini-LP style sleeve. Also included is an 80-page Rez history booklet