DeGarmo & Key, Petra, The Cars, Resurrection Band, Boston, Styx

1. Shallow Water
2. Rich Man
3. Here Comes David
4. Rejoice
5. Jesus Star
6. Water Grave
7. Cup of Water
8. Holy Roller Blues
9. Fly Away

SHALLOW WATER is a hard-edged product forged in the same tradition as Boston, Resurrection Band, and Styx, though not always as heavy. Originally released in 1979...

The Oregon-based Servant began with a classic rock sound featuring the twin lead vocal of Sandie Brock and Bob Hardy on blues-based songs that sometime recalled Jefferson Airplane. SHALLOW WATER is a hard-edged product forged in the same tradition as Barnabas and Resurrection Band, though not as heavy. The song Jesus Star, allows guitarist Bruce Wright to churn out some admirable guitar riffs, and Fly Away brings the album to a hand clappin', foot stompin' conclusion. Along the way they also offer heavy covers of the Dogwood song, Water Grave, and the Sammy Hagar tune, Rich Man.(Taken from the Encyclopedia of Christian Music by Mark Alan Powell)

Truly pioneers of Christian rock, this award winning debut album by Servant exploded onto the unsuspecting Christian scene in 1979, mocking the staleness and superficiality of Christianity without a social conscience. The debut release for Tunesmith Records out of Canada, SHALLOW WATER featured social commentary and progressive music (seared onto red vinyl, no less!) that was a tidal wave for the fledgling Christian music scene.

Known for their theatrics, light shows, and smoke bomb performances, many critic considered them too raucous to be authentically Christian. Yet, years and years of touring garnered the band legions of fans, winning them over with rhythmic, passionate rock music that would stir audiences. For the most part, it was like nothing they had ever heard before! In 1982 Servant was so well known they headlined a national tour where the ever popular Petra opened for them! This is a limited edition piece of Christian rock history!

The Servant story began in late 1975 in Victoria, British Columbia where the initial members of Servant met. The venue was one of those proverbial “Upper Rooms” located on the third floor of an old building with plenty of character, and served as a drop in center and coffeehouse for transients and misfits. It was during the early months of 1976 that the band began to take shape, consisting initially of Bruce Wright (lead guitarist and songwriter), David Holmes (drums), Rob Martens (bass), and ourselves, Owen and Sandie Brock (rhythm guitarist and song writer, and vocalist respectively). Within a year of its inception Bob Hardy joined the fledgling community that Servant was a part of, and eventually became a vocalist with the band. Matt Spransy whose skillful keyboards would round out the band’s sound, joined in the summer of 1981.

Apart from Bruce, who was a versatile and seasoned musician, the band that emerged was young and inexperienced. Several years of coffeehouses, parks and playing in bars four or five hours each night, helped change all that. And while the band members were growing in their skills, an intentional community was also growing as well. The band’s manager, Jim Palosaari and his wife, Susan, had worked together with Sandie and I in Europe and we shared a vision for a common life similar to what we had experienced while overseas. As the story would unfold, the community’s role would become foundational as our lifestyle and music reflected our shared beliefs about the world, the church, God’s kingdom and the importance of Christian community, simple living, compassion and justice for the poor.

Life for the band and community was nomadic those first few years, and after a brief sojourn in San Francisco in 1978, the group finally settled in Grants Pass, Oregon in April of 1979, where we bought property and began to crystallize our vision of a missional community base.