Frank and Laura Lewis Library Blog: An Introduction to Over the Rhine...

"...I think it is safe to say that while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted. The Southerner, who isn't convinced of it, is very much afraid that he may have been formed in the image and likeness of God. Ghosts can be very fierce and instructive. They cast strange shadows, particularly in our literature..."

- Flannery O'Connor

“We grew up with the musical mingling common to many of us who were raised in "the church." There were the old hymns that seeped into our souls via our mothers' milk, and then there was the allure of the music we were finding on our radio dials and on our friends' records. In small town America, many of us do grow up in a surreal musical world where Elvis is King, Jesus is Lord.

The records we ended up making document in part our attempts to unravel the tangle of religion we inherited. It's unsettling when someone named Jesus keeps turning up in unexpected places on a double album, but we're by no means the first songwriters to be Christ-haunted.”

- Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler

“Over the Rhine’s music is personal, reflecting several distinct concerns that make it hard to classify. All of it is subtle, dreamy, and low key. The closest comparison would be to Canada's Cowboy Junkies, with whom Over the Rhine toured for a while as "honorary members." "Folk-pop" and "alt-country" have been proposed as labels, and each is fine as far as it goes, but neither captures the role of Detweiler's piano, which can sketch sweeping rock landscapes or settle into cocktail-lounge shadows by turns. Their complex, rather literary lyric style is their own, often centered lately on quirky take-offs on romantic songs of the jazzy sort, songs about war and the violence that has infused itself into modern life, and spiritual essays — Over the Rhine has had a glancing relationship with the Christian music scene but has tended toward an unaffiliated desire for a better world and toward the fellowship found in hoping for it.”

- James M. Manheim

Now that you know what others are saying about Over the Rhine, check out the album releases below and discover for yourself why this particular library staff member so highly regards the recordings of this remarkable husband and wife duo!

And, yes, the Lewis Library has these ready for you to check out: