The Bookhouse Recordings (2004)

The Bookhouse Recordings is the sixth studio album by the Christian rock band PFR. It was released on November 23, 2004 on the Fuseic Music label. The band produced the album themselves and was recorded at The Bookhouse studio in Nashville, Tennessee and mixed by drummer Mark Nash.

After disbanding for a second time following their 2001 album Disappear, the trio reunited in Nashville for just one week at the end of August 2004 to record the entire project. Unlike their highly polished 1990s studio releases, this was the first album PFR produced entirely on their own, opting for a gritty, stripped-down, and live-in-the-studio sonic delivery. The album was launched on the independent Fuseic Music label, which was started by Rick Altizer, and was distributed as an exclusive physical release through Family Christian Stores.

The Bookhouse Recordings served as a hybrid project combining seven re-imagined, raw versions of older fan favorites with three brand new songs:

"In the Middle," "Home" and "Prayer For Beslan," a song mourning the terrorist attacks on a Russian school the same week the band was recording. After this release, PFR has done some occasional one-off reunion shows through the years in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. The Bookhouse Recordings was later made available on streaming platforms in 2020.

Track listing

1. Pray for Rain (2004 Version) (Joel Hanson, Patrick Andrew) -4:32

2. Great Lengths (2004 Version) (Patrick Andrew, Jimmie Lee Sloas) -2:56

3. In the Middle (PFR) (new recording) -4:13

4. Wonder Why (2004 Version) (Joel Hanson) -3:38

5. Anything (2004 Version) (Joel Hanson, Patrick Andrew, Mike Andrew) -4:32

6. Home (PFR) (new recording) -2:56

7. That Kind of Love (2004 Version) (Gordon Kennedy, Jenny Yates) -3:48

8. Dying Man (2004 Version) (Joel Hanson) -3:35

9. Prayer For Beslan (PFR) (new recording) -3:20

10. Last Breath (2004 Version) (Patrick Andrew) -3:05

Personnel

PFR:

Joel Hanson -lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars

Patrick Andrew -co-lead vocals, backing vocals, bass guitar

Mark Nash -drums, percussion, backing vocals

Previous release: Disappear (2001) 

Next release: Very Best of PFR (2006) (Sparrow Records compilation album)