''Innocent Blood'' is the ninth studio album, by American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band

Resurrection Band Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for ...

(known at this point as "Rez"), released in 1989.

Background

The hard rock on ''Innocent Blood'' is even more

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

-based than Rez' previous outing, as evidenced by "Child of the Blues", "Great God in Heaven", and the brief opening track, "Rooster Crow", an acoustic blues number which would be fleshed out into a complete song many years later for the Glenn Kaiser Band's 2001 album, ''Carolina Moon''. The remainder of the album edges closer to heavy metal, as evidenced by "Altar of Pain" and "80,000 Underground". The band also covers the song "Bargain", originally recorded by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, which became a No. 1 hit on Christian rock radio. In addition, "Where Roses Grow" became a concert favorite among long-time Rez fans. Given the blues-oriented musical direction of ''Innocent Blood'', the lyrics concern themselves primarily with issues of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

("Child of the Blues"),

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

("80,000 Underground") the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

("Fiend or Foul") and the hope of

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

("Where Roses Grow"). However, in a contemporary twist, REZ also turns a critical eye toward American culture's obsession with youth in "Altar of Pain."

Track listing

# "Rooster Crow" – 0:48 # "Altar of Pain" – 3:15 # "The House Is On Fire" – 3:25 # "80,000 Underground" – 3:14 # "Fiend or Foul" – 4:41 # "Where Roses Grow" – 7:20 # "Right On Time" – 5:46 # "Child of the Blues" – 3:40 # "Laughing Man" – 3:31 # "Bargain" – 5:31 # "Great God in Heaven" – 2:56

Personnel

Glenn Kaiser Glenn Kaiser (born January 21, 1953) is a Chicago-based Christian blues musician, singer, songwriter and pastor. He was the leader of Resurrection Band and is currently the leader of The Glenn Kaiser Band. Personal life Childhood Kaiser's ol ...

– vocals, guitars * Wendi Kaiser – vocals * Stu Heiss – lead guitar, keyboards * Roy Montroy – bass guitar, keyboards * John Herrin – drums Production * Rez – producer * Tom Cameron – producer * Ed Bialach –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Roy Montroy – engineer * Roger Heiss – engineer * Steve Hall – mastering ''Innocent Bloods cover photograph is of an eight-year-old girl named Tricia who lived close to the

Jesus People USA Jesus People USA (JPUSA) pronounced: ǰ-pu-sa is a Christian intentional community in Uptown, on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee during the Jesus movement, it is one of the largest cont ...

community in urban Chicago. She was tragically abducted by an unknown person(s) around the Chase Park area. Most disturbingly, Tricia was never seen again. In her memory, the band addressed this subject on the album as well. {{Authority control Resurrection Band albums 1989 albums