Search - Wayne Watson :: Early Works

Have I got a deal for you today! C'mon step right this way!

D. COLLIER | Brownwood, TX United States | 06/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of those rare compact discs in which the listener's finger will not get much exercise from pressing the Fast Forward button. Wayne Watson's career didn't begin with "Field of Souls", "Beautiful Place", or any of his songs from even the last 15 years. No, go back even farther. Go back to a time before there were giants in the land, before water-colored ponies could be seen on refrigerator doors, and before such times as these.



A Christian music enthusiast can do well by buying old greatest hits CDs even if the song titles aren't all that familiar. Because that's when you hear that song that you haven't heard in 15 or 20 years, the one that you loved so much when you first started listening to Christian music. Well, for me, this was one of those CDs. Some of the songs that were so familiar to me include:



"The Sacrifice":

Offer up the sacrifice

Creation set forth the call

One Holy sacrifice

One life to pay for the fall



"Love Found a Way":

Love found a way

And our hearts can hold

The price Love chose to pay

All hope was gone

Till Easter dawn

We are free because

Love found a way



"People of God":

We're the people of God

Called by His name

Called from the dark

And delivered from shame



"One Day":

One day Jesus will call my name

As days go by I hope I don't stay the same

I want to get so close to Him

That it's no big change

On that day that Jesus calls my name



Also on this album is the original version of "Touch of the Master's Hand". If you don't recall, that's the classic about the dusty, old violin and the auction. I think this version is far better than the re-recorded version found on the CD "How Time Flies". Don't get me wrong: that one's good, but this one's better. "Touch of the Master's Hand" is one of those songs you can listen to when you're feeling down, and it's a guarantee to bring you back up again.



But my favorite song on here is "New Lives For Old", which is a story song about a sad, old man who used to run a carnival until something happened that caused him to shut it down. Now, he stands on the old street corner where he used to sell tickets for his show, and he shouts out to the people that pass by...



New lives for old

Warm hearts for cold

Have I got a deal for you today

C'mon, step right this way

Get you new lives for old



...and the song ends with a both sad and wonderful conclusion."