Wherever You Are (2005)
- Joel Caballero
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Wherever You Are is the eighth studio album by the Christian rock band Third Day, released on November 1, 2005 by Essential Records/Provident Music. The band and well-known "go-to" producer Brown Bannister, each produced six tracks.
Wherever You Are deals with some personal tragedies from among the band mates as they forged its finest work to date with a collection of material that ranges from raging rockers to contemplative worship songs. The release opens with the take-no-prisoners urgency of "Tunnel" and finds lead singer Mac Powell offering hope in the face of difficulty and backed by the driving guitar work of Brad Avery and Mark Lee. The first single, "Cry Out to Jesus," is a song Powell wrote after a heartbreaking tragedy that struck a family living in his
neighborhood, who lost their young son around Christmastime. It serves as a raw
emotional lifeline for people facing immense pain. The lyrics speak directly to those dealing with loneliness, grief, addiction and broken relationships and reminds listeners that their is hope for the hopeless and love for the broken heart.
"Cry Out to Jesus" was immediate out-of-the-box hit on Christian radio and topped both Billboard and Radio & Records Christian music charts across the board. The second single "Mountain of God" was another immediate hit. The track centers heavily around the idea that spiritual growth requires enduring hardships. Lyrically, it's a confession about realizing you were never actually alone during your darkest moments, even when you felt broken, afraid, or lost. Powell co-wrote "Mountain of God" with Bannister. Like "Cry Out to Jesus," the track also topped the Christian music charts. Grammy winning vocalist Ashley Cleveland provided guest vocals.
Wherever You Are debuted and peaked at the top of the Top Christian Albums chart and made it first Top 10 appearance on the Billboard 200 chart peaking at number 8. The album was Gold certified in 2006 and then a decade later was Platinum certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of a million copies. It is the band's second and final Platinum selling studio release since Offerings. "Cry Out to Jesus" is the band's first Gold certified single selling half a million downloads in 2018. In 2006, "Cry Out to Jesus" won Third Day Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the 37th GMA Dove Awards and in 2007, the band won their third Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.
Some later editions of Wherever You Are were later released. A box edition containing three CDs with different cover artwork but with the same track listing and a 2-disc special edition contains a bonus disc with three bonus tracks including a remix recording of "Cry Out to Jesus." The insert is different than the original, showing the band on a hillside and the photo is green tinged.
You can listen to the exclusive bonus tracks further below this article.
Track listing
All songs written by Mac Powell, except where noted.
1. Tunnel -4:19
2. Eagles (Brad Avery) -3:39
3. Cry Out to Jesus -4:43
4. I Can Feel It (Mark Lee) -3:40
5. Keep On Shinin' (Mark Lee) -3:06
6. Communion -4:15
7. Carry My Cross -5:17
8. How Do You Know -4:09
9. Mountain of God (Mac Powell, Brown Bannister) -3:55
10. Love Heals Your Heart (Brad Avery) -4:20
11. The Sun is Shining -4:13
12. Rise Up (Brad Avery) -6:05
13. Without You (Brad Avery) (iTunes exclusive track) -4:17
Personnel
Third Day:
Mac Powell -lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Mark Lee -guitars, backing vocals
Brad Avery -guitars, backing vocals
Tai Anderson -bass guitar
David Carr -drums, percussion
additional musicians:
Ashley Cleveland -guest vocals on track 9
Geof Barkley -keyboards, backing vocals
Blair Masters -keyboards
Don McCollistor -string arrangements (tracks 10 and 11), keyboards, percussion,
additional arrangements
Scotty Wilbanks -acoustic piano, Wurlizter electric piano, Hammond B-3 organ
George Cocchini (credited as Tone Chaperone) -additional acoustic guitar on
track 3
Eric Darken -percussion
Conni Ellisor -string arrangements on track 7
Carl Marsh -string conductor (tracks 7, 9 -11), string arrangements on track 9
Gavyn Wright -concertmaster (tracks 7, 9 -11)
The London Sessions Orchestra -strings (tracks 7, 9 -11)
Ellie Holcomb, Michael Mellet, Travis Contrell and Drew Cline -backing vocalists
Production credits
Third Day -producers (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10 -12)
Brown Bannister -producer (tracks 2, 3, 6 -9)
RIAA certifications
Wherever You Are -Gold certified in 2006, Platinum certified in 2016.
"Cry Out to Jesus" single -Gold certified in 2018.
Accolades
Dove Award -Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Cry Out to Jesus")
Grammy Award -Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album (Wherever You Are)
Radio singles
2005 -2006 "Cry Out to Jesus" -#1 Billboard Hot Christian Songs for 8 weeks,
-#1 Billboard Christian Airplay for 8 weeks, -#1 Billboard Christian AC Aiplay for
2 weeks, -#1 R&R Christian CHR for 4 weeks, -#1 R&R Christian AC for 9 weeks,
-#1 R&R Christian Inspo for 3 weeks
2006 "I Can Feel It" -#13 R&R Christian CHR
2006 "Mountain of God" -#1 Billboard Hot Christian Songs, -#1 Billboard Christian
Airplay, -#1 Billboard Christian AC Airplay for 8 weeks, -#22 R&R Christian CHR,
-#1 R&R Christian AC for 8 weeks, -#1 R&R Christian Inspo for 3 weeks
2007 "Tunnel" -#7 Billboard Hot Christian Songs, -#7 Billboard Christian Airplay,
-#8 Billboard Christian AC Airplay, -#8 R&R Christian CHR, -#8 R&R Christian AC
Previous release: Live Wire (2004) (live CD/DVD)
Next release: Christmas Offerings (2006)
Watch the music video of "Cry Out to Jesus" here:
Listen to the exclusive bonus track "Falling to Pieces" :
Listen to the exclusive bonus track "That's How the Story Goes" :
Listen to the exclusive remix of "Cry Out to Jesus" :
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