Christian musicians build bridge of praise

They asked Shults to work on the project with them, and "it was really fun," says Shults. "They are two of my favorite artists. We wondered if we could bridge the gap between Paul's light piano and Steele's rock guitar, but it came together well."

They had fewer qualms about bridging the philosophical gaps between them. "Paul and I talked about that a lot," says Croswhite. "He's LDS, and I'm Evangelical. We'd talk about how cool it is to have differences in our faiths and differences in our understanding, but how neat it was to come together, to be friends."

Music is a wonderful way to build bridges, says Cardall. "We can build a bridge of understanding. We can all be friends. We may have different doctrines, but we can try to understand each other."

Sometimes, he says, people are afraid to reach outside their comfort zones, but looking for similarities instead of differences can be enriching. "I think we can all become better Christians by listening to all Christian music. We can be uplifted. We can be inspired."

There were times when Cardall was a bit nervous about taking such a departure from his usual path. "I thought, 'What am I doing? What's inside this little piano boy?' And I wondered how my fans would accept it. But I have good fans. They've always appreciated what I've tried to do, and I think they will respect this, too."

The CD is not totally vocal offerings. "Eden" is included, and so are a few other instrumental numbers, including a beautiful version of "Come, Thou Fount" and a medley titled "Redeemer" that are in keeping with Cardall's love of melody and his ability to evoke peace and relaxation.

"Steven Sharp Nelson plays the cello for us and did all the string orchestrations, and they are unreal," says Cardall. "They add so much depth." But there's also a rockin' element to some of the songs. "We brought in a new artist, a guitarist named Jake White, and he's awesome." Cheri Magill, another local singer/songwriter who likes to rock, did backup vocals.

"I love the songs," says Croswhite. "There's one called 'Grateful' that was fun to sing." Another favorite is "Prodigal," a song a lot of people can relate to, he says. The CD includes a Michael W. Smith song, "Agnus Dei"; Croswhite and Magill also team up for an unusual and moving version of "There Is A Green Hill."

"It's been one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of," says Croswhite. "I respect the authenticity of the artists. I'm more country and classic rock 'n' roll; Paul's more soft jazz. It's so cool that we can come together."

People are often afraid to differ, he says, "but it's OK to differ on some things; we can agree on others. We are just a couple of people doing the same things, and at the end of the day, we can be friends. No matter what happens on the cerebral side, we can come together in our hearts. We can build bridges."

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com