The 77s ride again

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Tuesday, April 28th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: New music from one of Christian rock’s longest-running bands.

The 77s emerged on the Christian rock scene in the 1980s, founded by frontman Michael Roe. Now after almost 25 years—they are back with new music.

BROWN: WORLD’s music critic Arsenio Orteza got the chance to talk with Roe about the band’s legacy and their long-awaited return.

ARSENIO ORTEZA: Since their appearance on the Christian-music scene in 1982, the 77s have set the standard for rock that’s in the world, but not of it.

MUSIC: [“Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba” by the 77s]

This is “Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba,” a cut from their 1984 LP, All Fall Down. 

Now the 77s are back with a new album called 7. It’s their first original material in almost a quarter century. To call it “much anticipated” would be an understatement.

MUSIC: [“Out of the Clouds” by the 77s]

This is “Out of the Clouds,” the album’s opener. It’s the kind of song that whets listeners’ appetites for more. In this case, though, there was a problem: not everyone initially thought there was enough more.

The album is called 7 because its 32-minute vinyl version has exactly seven songs. The CD has 10, the digital download 11. People who buy the vinyl get access to all the songs digitally.

But Mike Roe, the 77s frontman, says not everyone was as tickled with the “seven” concept as the band was.

ROE: In today's economy, people want their money's worth, right? So on the next one, we'll put 10 or whatever it is.

The silver lining to the situation is that there’ll be a next one—and that even purists who stick to the new album’s “official” seven songs will find themselves with plenty to enjoy.

MUSIC: [“Saddle Up” by the 77s]

This is “Saddle Up,” a song written by the 77s’ drummer, Bruce Spencer. Roe says that people often think that because he sings all the songs, he writes all the songs too. 

But these days, Spencer and the bassist Mark Harmon write the music while Roe and Spencer write the words.

ROE: What I do is I find the best guys that I can to have them do their best, and then I just either edit it or contribute to it in whatever way I can, because a band needs to be a band with everyone contributing, you know?

7 makes a strong case for Roe’s assessment. Besides rockers such as “Saddle Up” and “Out of the Clouds,” the album includes two mid-tempo pop gems. “Be Still,” which closes 7’s vinyl edition, cautions against looking for peace in today’s ever-shifting political binary.

And then there’s this song.

MUSIC: [“Heart Back” by the 77s]

It’s called “Heart Back.” And Roe says that hearing it in its early stages is what made him want to work within the 77s framework again.

ROE: I'd gotten to a point where there were so many other things I wanted to do, why would I want to do this again? And when I heard Bruce's demo of “Heart Back,” I just went. “My gosh! That's like if Fleetwood Mac was back together, that would be their single!” I said, “How can I resist not sharing that with the world?”

So far, we’ve sampled highlights of the official seven songs. But the CD bonus tracks have a lot to recommend them, too. There is, for instance, the free-range rock and roll of “Weedzlers.”

MUSIC: [“Weedzlers” by the 77s]

Roe calls “Weedzlers” the new album’s “most fully realized song.” He also says that its sound captures the 77s at their purest. 

And despite their spontaneous and playful nature, the lyrics sound like a prayer.

ROE: It’s the kind of prayer you pray when you're just so far gone and you're just grasping at any straw. And I've been at that place at times in my life, you know...I think we all have.

Roe is aware that the emphasis of the 77s’ lyrics has shifted over the years. In the beginning, they were more immediately identifiable as the work of a Christian band singing to a Christian audience.

Nowadays, though, the band’s audience has expanded, and its original audience has matured.

ROE: It didn't soften, it went in another direction. It became actually way more subversive because there really isn't any intent behind this other than to express the best music we can through whatever we're going through with the lyrics.

As for “Uncle Gene,” that 11th song available only as a digital track, it’s not about Gene Eugene, Roe’s late partner in Lost Dogs, but about Roe’s relatives. He calls it a “rocking rockabilly nutso thing.” 

Musically, it’s totally in the moment—and the perfect way for those who “saddle up” at the album’s outset to gallop off into the sunset.

MUSIC: [“Uncle Gene” by the 77s]

I’m Arsenio Orteza.

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