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 In 1999 Tim McAllister rounded up some of the best players in Portland and recorded Strong Tower. Then he put it on the shelf. Why would a person record an album and wait a full eight years before releasing it?
If you are unfamiliar with McAllister’s name or resume, you might assume his album was just another embarrassing home recording of mediocre songs from a wanna-be. But that is not how this story goes. Read on.
When Tim got the CDs back from the manufacturer in July 2007, he sent one to CDBaby. With over 189,000 artists to choose from, CDBaby selected Strong Tower as an Editor’s Pick in the Adult Alternative Pop/Rock category. So there is something to this album. Why did it sit on the shelf for eight years?
Tim McAllister describes himself as both confused and certain. Melancholic and mad. “These dichotomies define who I am, and by extension, most certainly describe my music” he adds. This holds true as he drags confusion to new highs and finds certainty at the very bottom with musical landscapes bound to please fans of Simple Minds, Tears for Fears and the like.
McAllister broke into the music scene in the eighties as the front man of Flock 14. His showmanship and spiritually charged atmospheric songwriting resulted in several CCM rock chart hits and wildly successful tours. Desiring a deeper, more introspective album, Tim called upon Linford Detweiler (Over the Rhine), Jimmy Abegg (Charlie Peacock, Vector) and Gene Eugene (Adam Again) to create the World Theatre album. The album fully delivered on his vision and was meet with critical acclaim.
As he was finishing the World Theatre album in January of 1989, Tim’s sister was killed by a great white shark off the coast of California. This, along with other personal tragedies that year were enough for him to leave the public eye. He continued to write, record and produce behind the scenes with friends, most notably working on the first two Over the Rhine records. But rather than furthering his musical career outwardly, Tim continued to withdraw, fighting personal demons through songwriting.
So with Strong Tower complete in 1999, it sat on his shelf, used occasionally as a salve for his own soul.
Finally in the spring of 2007 something happened. Tim explains: “I received an email a few months ago from a stranger telling me of his struggle through the darkest time of his life. This guy was talking about some really dark stuff. Things I myself experienced and wrote about on the Strong Tower album. He finished by telling me he found hope in my music and thanked me. I decided then to release the album. I was selfish to keep it to myself. I wanted to share it to people like him."
So, Strong Tower sat on his shelf for eight years, waiting for a suicide note from a stranger.
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