Three “Firsts” with My New CD
I’m excited to officially announce that my latest CD, “Mercifulove: Best of Bob Rice 2006-2015” is now available! You can download songs on ITUNES or download/purchase physical copies of the CD on CDBABY.
Though mostly a collection of previously released music, there are three “firsts” that make this CD special (well, to me anyway).
The CD is the first time I’ve ever recorded a “rejected” Steubenville Youth Conference theme song. “Rooted” was the theme in 2011 (to see that year’s promotional video click HERE… and then click HERE to see how far it has come!) so I wrote and submitted a song that I thought was pretty good. But when it was rejected I shelved it. Probably my artist’s insecurity, but I figured if it wasn’t good enough for the conferences then other people wouldn’t like it.
But over the years the song has been stuck in my head. I wanted to record some new music for the CD so I thought I’d give it a shot. And I think it came out amazing!
The second “first” is that this album has the first recording of a talk of mine ever put on a CD. About two years ago I gave an impromptu talk about how much Christ paid for us on the cross (you can see the video of that talk HERE) and since then many folks have been blessed by it. I’m really excited to have it on this disc because speaking is such an important part of what I do. My prayer is that someone will buy the CD for the music and be really touched by the message at the end.
The third and final “first” is that this CD marks the first time that a pope has formally declared a holy year based on the theme of my title track. I wrote the song “Merciful Love” based on one of my favorite psalms, Psalm 100, and I was in the studio recording it when Pope Francis made his announcement about the upcoming “Year of Mercy”. Wasn’t that nice of him to do?
Since I’ve emphasized the “firsts” I should probably also mention an important “second”: this is the second time I’ve released a “Best Of” album, celebrating a second decade of music. I feel blessed and privileged to have been making music for twenty years—and I can only keep doing it because of amazing people like you who listen to the music, share it with friends, and keep supporting the ministry. Without you guys I’m just strumming my guitar in the basement. It’s an honor to write, record, and play music for you all. I hope you are as blessed by the music I write as I am by your love and support.
All glory be to Jesus Christ!
PS. As I handed out some early releases of the CD, some asked why songs like “Heart of Jesus” and “Let Nothing Trouble You” weren’t on it. I’ll give more detail on that later, but the short answer is that I’m excited to be working with a publisher who is going to release some of my liturgical/worship songs (including those) on a separate album.
One Comment on “Three “Firsts” with My New CD”
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My most popular book!
Deacon Bob Rice 
love it I love all the songs great job Bob