Flashback Album Review: You’re My Road

Spreading the gospel is what this album and Rick’s career were all about.

Posted on

It was Creation ’87, and my introduction to Rick Cua––I had thought––was going to be the much-anticipated concert that was scheduled for the afternoon. But I soon came to realize that I knew more about Rick than I had thought. I had heard my brother play his You’re My Road cassette tape, and didn’t even know they were Cua songs. Needless to say, I was glad I had tagged along to the concert of someone I thought I didn’t know.

And by the way, it was a nice introduction to Margaret Becker, who was touring with him at the time, and who performed a couple of songs from her debut album.

Though the 1987 tour was still highlighting Cua’s 1986 Wear Your Colors album, probably the one he is most remembered for today, my personal favorites came from his 1985 release, You’re My Road. And why not? As mentioned in an earlier review for Within Reach, the two albums had a consistency of good songs, one right after another.

You’re My Road begins with the rocking and urgent “Don’t Say Suicide,” certainly one of the top three Cua songs of all time (along with “I Can, I Will” and “Wear Your Colors”). Such a heavy (both lyrically and musically) song is followed by the lighter and brighter title track, “You’re My Road,” followed by another rocker, “One Child in Pain.” Next is the anthemic ballad, “We Are the Chosen,” and then the fast-paced “You’ve Only Got One Life” to finish out the remarkable Side 1.

Side 2 begins with a Phil Collins -Esque drum intro to “House Calls.” The “In The Air Tonight” drums play almost exclusively into the verse, where the song and instruments pick up at the chorus. Similarly, the following, “Runaway” is soft in the beginning and in the verses, but picks up in the chorus. Another anthemic ballad follows, the worshipful, “We Are Yours,” based on the famous Joshua 24:15 verse. This is perhaps his all-time most worshipful song and is still inspiring more than 35 years later. The album ends with two rockers, “The Old Man,” which talks about how Rick’s life has changed by the power of The Holy Spirit. (“You’re not gonna see the old man, I wanna make it clear. I’m not gonna be the old man, I drove him outta here”) and “Can’t Stop,” a rollicking ‘confession’ of a mindset on spreading the gospel.

And spreading the gospel is what this album and Rick’s career were all about. He certainly did that over the course of his on-and-off, 25-year career (he consistently made music for about 15 years from about 1980-1995). It is refreshing to not only go back and hear music like this again but to hear lyrics like these again as well.

 

Featured Image by Pexels from Pixabay

The views and opinions expressed by Kingdom Winds Collective Members, authors, and contributors are their own and do not represent the views of Kingdom Winds LLC.

About the Author