The Jesus Record

The Jesus Record is the ninth and final album by American singer and songwriter Rich Mullins, released posthumously on July 21, 1998, ten months after his death.

The first disc of the album, entitled "The Jesus Demos", consists of nine rough demos Mullins recorded for the album in an abandoned church on September 10, 1997, nine days before his death. The songs were meant for a concept album based on the life of Jesus Christ, to be called Ten Songs About Jesus.

The second disc was recorded after Mullins' death by a Ragamuffin Band (Rick Elias, Mark Robertson, Jimmy Abegg and Aaron Smith), with guest vocals by Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Ashley Cleveland, and Phil Keaggy. Orchestration for the album, arranged and conducted by Tom Howard, were recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios. The album ends with the rough demo version of "That Where I Am, There You...", with added instruments and vocals by the Ragamuffin Band, Michael W. Smith and a large choir of family and friends. The last thing heard on the album are the faint sounds of "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus", played by Mullins on the Hammered Dulcimer. The recording, which was made during a 1997 concert performance in Green Bay, Wisconsin, barely made it onto the final album. Two men, who were helping Elias find potential recordings, searched countless church video libraries, bootleg tape traders lists, professional video tapers, music message boards, email discussion lists and other sources, before someone came forward with a tape that was made at the Green Bay church. This person was able to rush the tape to the two men doing the extensive search, who then rushed it to Elias who was mastering the album. The tape arrived on the final day of mastering, just barely in time to be included.

Much of the album was performed live at the 1998 Cornerstone Music Festival by a Ragamuffin Band, who then embarked on "The Homeless Man Tour" as a tribute to Mullins' memory.

Track listing
Disc One: The Jesus Demos
 * 1) "Hard to Get" (Rich Mullins) – 4:41
 * 2) "All The Way to Kingdom Come" (Rich Mullins) – 3:18
 * 3) "My Deliverer" (Rich Mullins, Mitch McVicker) – 3:18
 * 4) "Surely God Is With Us" (Mark Robertson, Beaker) – 3:48
 * 5) "Jesus..." (Rich Mullins, Mitch McVicker, Dana Waddel) – 4:34
 * 6) "You Did Not Have a Home" (Rich Mullins) – 2:27
 * 7) "Heaven in His Eyes" (Rich Mullins) – 4:00
 * 8) *Earlier recording appeared on Behold the Man 1981
 * 9) "Nothing Is Beyond You" (Rich Mullins, Mitch McVicker, Tom Booth) – 3:40
 * 10) "That Where I Am, There You..." (Rich Mullins) – 2:45

Disc Two: The Jesus Record
 * 1) "My Deliverer" – 5:59
 * 2) "Surely God Is With Us" – 4:29
 * 3) "Nothing Is Beyond You" – 4:19
 * 4) "You Did Not Have a Home" – 2:57
 * 5) "Jesus..." – 6:05
 * 6) "All The Way to Kingdom Come" – 3:51
 * 7) "Man of No Reputation" (Rick Elias) – 6:04
 * 8) "Heaven In His Eyes" – 4:05
 * 9) *Earlier recording appeared on Behold the Man 1981
 * 10) "Hard To Get" – 4:55
 * 11) "That Where I Am, There You..." – 3:21

Personnel

 * Rich Mullins – lead vocals, guitar on tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and piano on tracks 3, 5, 7, 8 of The Jesus Demos
 * Mitch McVicker – backing guitar on track 9 of The Jesus Demos
 * The Ragamuffins are – Rick Elias, lead vocals on tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, backing vocals, guitar, harmonica on tracks 4, 7; Aaron Smith, drums; Mark Robertson, bass guitar, lead vocals on tracks 2, 4, 6, backing vocals; Jimmy Abegg, guitars, lead vocals on tracks 4, 6, backing vocals for The Jesus Record
 * Amy Grant – lead vocals on "Nothing Is Beyond You" for The Jesus Record, backing vocals on tracks 9, 10
 * Ashley Cleveland – lead vocals on "Jesus..." for The Jesus Record, backing vocals on tracks 1, 9
 * Phil Keaggy – lead vocals on "All The Way To Kingdom Come" for The Jesus Record
 * Michael W. Smith – lead vocals on "Heaven In His Eyes" and "That Where I Am, There You..." for The Jesus Record, backing vocals on tracks 1, 10
 * Rick Elias – lead vocals on "My Deliverer", "You Did Not Have a Home", "All The Way To Kingdom Come", "Man of No Reputation" and "Hard to Get" for The Jesus Record, backing vocals on track 3
 * Mark Robertson – lead vocals on "Surely God Is With Us", "You Did Not Have a Home" and "All The Way To Kingdom Come" for The Jesus Record
 * Jimmy Abegg – lead vocals on "You Did Not Have a Home" and "All The Way To Kingdom Come" for The Jesus Record
 * Jim Chaffee – backing vocals on tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 of The Jesus Record
 * Linda Elias – backing vocals on tracks 3, 4, 6 of The Jesus Record

Additional musicians


 * Tom Howard – piano on tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, Wurlitzer on track 8, orchestrations on tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, orchestra arrangement on tracks 1, 5, 7, string arrangements on track 3, string quartet arrangement on track 8, conducting on tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 of The Jesus Record
 * Phil Madeira – B-3 on tracks 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, lap steel on track 2, dobro on track 4, accordion on track 10 of The Jesus Record
 * Eric Darken – percussion on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 of The Jesus Record
 * Sam Levine – pennywhistle on track 1, flute on track 5, recorder on track 9 of The Jesus Record
 * Jerry McPherson – additional guitars on tracks 3, 6, 8, 9, 10 of The Jesus Record
 * Kenny Greenberg – additional guitars on track 6 of The Jesus Record
 * Tim Lauer – Mellotron on track 3, accordion on tracks 4, 7, harmonium on track 9 of The Jesus Record
 * Rich Mullins – guitars and lead vocals on track 10 of The Jesus Record
 * Mitch McVicker – guitars on track 10 of The Jesus Record
 * Linda Elias – percussion on tracks 6, 10 of The Jesus Record
 * Children's Choir on "My Deliverer" for The Jesus Record
 * Emily Webb
 * Ashley Melling
 * Brittany Hargest
 * Megan Dockery
 * Chris White
 * Matthew White
 * Brandon Hargest
 * Sterling Gibson
 * Adult Choir on "My Deliverer" for The Jesus Record
 * Roz Thompson
 * Steve Flanigan
 * Nicole Coleman-Mullen
 * George Pendergrass
 * Percy Travis III
 * Melinda Doolittle
 * Scat Springs
 * Ann Bailey
 * Choir on "That Where I Am, There You..." for The Jesus Record
 * Mark Lutz
 * Elizabeth Lutz
 * Connie Hawk
 * David McCracken
 * Nicole Hemphill
 * Hardy Hemphill
 * Michelle Younkman
 * Stuart Young
 * Mary Quick
 * Michael Oliver
 * Kurt Lightner
 * Laura Davis
 * Lea Fulton
 * Eric May
 * Kevin Tucker
 * Dawn Gates
 * Laura Neutzling
 * Marie Lehman
 * Chuck Hargett
 * Janice Chaffee
 * Jim Chaffee
 * Chuck Nelson
 * Mari O'Neill
 * Jamie Kiner
 * Ann Bailey
 * Roz Thompson
 * Jemina Abegg
 * Alexia M. Abegg
 * Pierette Abegg
 * Augdrey Eva Smith
 * Kathryn Garcia Smith
 * Aaron Smith
 * Sydney Maria Smith
 * Gloria Green
 * Michelle Abegg
 * Rebecca Brown
 * Chris Smith
 * Janice Smith
 * Archie Griffin
 * Rose Corazza
 * Kristin Pierson
 * Keith Bordeaux
 * London Session Orchestra
 * Gavyn Wright – violin, leader
 * Wilf Gibson – violin
 * Becca Hirsch – violin
 * Pat Kiernan – violin
 * Perry Mason – violin
 * Bog Kostecki – violin
 * Rolf Wilson – violin
 * John Bradbury – violin
 * Jim McLeod – violin
 * Ben Cruft – violin
 * Phill Dukes – viola
 * George Robertson – viola
 * Bill Hawkes – viola
 * Caty Wilkinson – viola
 * Tony Pleeth – cello
 * Johnathan Williams – cello
 * Paul Kegg – cello
 * Frank Schaeffer – cello
 * Chris Laurence – double bass
 * Paul Cullington – double bass
 * John Pigneguy – horn
 * Frank Lloyd – horn
 * Mike Thompson – horn

Production


 * Jim Chaffee – A&R direction, executive producer
 * Judith Volz – A&R direction, executive producer
 * Jamie Kiner – A&R direction
 * Beth Lee – art direction, design
 * Jimmy Abegg – art direction, design
 * Ben Pearson – art direction, design, photography
 * Rick Elias – producer
 * Russ Long – engineer
 * Peter Cobbin – orchestra and string quartet engineer
 * Jordan Richter – additional engineer
 * Chris Grainger – assistant engineer
 * Tim Rauter – assistant engineer
 * The White House, Nashville, Tennessee – recording studio
 * Ragamuffin Recorders, Brentwood, Tennessee – recording studio
 * The Carport, Nashville, Tennessee – recording studio
 * Soundstage, Nashville, Tennessee – recording studio
 * Darkhorse Studio, Franklin, Tennessee – recording studio
 * Abbey Road Studios, London, England – orchestra and string quartet recording studio
 * Fred Paragano – digital editing
 * Lynn Fuston – additional digital editing
 * David Schober – additional digital editing
 * Ted Bahas – additional digital editing
 * J.R. McNeely – mixing at the Sound Kitchen, Franklin, Tennessee
 * Mat5t – mixing assistant
 * Todd Gunnerson – mixing assistant
 * Tim Coyle – mixing assistant
 * Hank Williams – mastering at Mastermix, Nashville, Tennessee
 * Kristin Pierson – production coordinator
 * William Morris Agency – booking