Somewhere beyond the extreme fringes of Christian music lies the creative genius of John Rydgren. Did I say music? More accurately Silhouette Segments would fall into the spoken word category alongside works by Stewart Henderson and Pat Berkery. Stylistically the planet’s closest ally would be hip “word-jazz” artist Ken Nordine, though Rydgren’s vignettes clearly exist in a world of their own, unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Pastor John Rydgren was director of TV/Radio/Films for the American Lutheran Church. This double album (housed in a wildly psychedelic gatefold cover, complete with mod mini-skirted femme on the back) features material from his radio show Silhouette. Tall, thin, spectacled, short hair, receding hairline, coat and tie - it’s hard to believe that stuff this wild could possibly emanate from this gentleman. Titles include ‘Personality Doll Of The Week’, ‘Hippie Version Of The 23rd Psalm’, ‘Rinky Dink’, ‘Search It Out’, ‘Transistor Father’. Thirty-one segments in all, ranging from the four-minute ‘Dark Side Of The Flower’ (a poem over sitar music describing the disappointments of hippiedom) down to the twelve one-minute titles that comprise side four. Particularly striking is Rydgren’s otherworldly voice - incredibly slick, velvety, deep, hovering a mere fraction of a tone above Lurch. Equally important is the background music, culled from instrumental artists of the time such as Bob Crewe, The Brass Ring, The Tijuana Brass, The Electric Prunes, Cannonball Adderley, plus numerous snatches of unidentified incidental easy listening, psychedelic rock, crime jazz, lounge pop, and whatnot. The language is wonderfully dated, groovin’, happenin’, touching on topics like hippies, war, poverty, Christmas, the church, parents, even girl watching! Remarkable depth here including poetry, humorous skits, fake commercials, sound collages, interviews. ‘The Happening’ even melds pieces of conversations with artists like The Association, Paul Revere, Peaches and Herb, 4 Tops, asking their opinions on the state of spirituality among youth. On the inside cover there’s a picture of him interviewing Peter Tork of The Monkees, but that segment apparently didn’t make it on the vinyl (bummer). Rydgren’s spiritual commentary is ever present in the grooves as well as in the liner notes, offering the hope of Christ in a fashion that is neither heavy-handed nor trite, but compassionate and creative. A single-disc “re-issue” appeared in the late ‘90s. Refreshingly unique and inspirational through and through!