Background and Recording
Following the success of the band's previous albums Almost There and Spoken For, MercyMe was given "significantly" more resources to develop their next record by their record label, INO Records. Although they decided not to alter their Christian approach to songwriting, live performances, and interviews, they opted to work with outside songwriters on the album, employed the London Symphony Orchestra to play strings on several tracks, and added a sixth member to the band, guitarist Barry Graul. Additionally, MercyMe wrote and recorded the music for Undone before they wrote any of the lyrics. Lead singer Bart Millard noted that by using this method, instead of his lyrics swaying the musical elements of the song, the music acted as "a canvas with which to write ". He elaborated that "We’ve been making records for 10 years, so anything that sparks creativity... is very much welcomed". The title of the album was inspired by "the unexpected twists and turns in the band's journey"; Millard commented that "We had our plans for what we were going to do; but when the bigger picture happened, all of our plans came unraveled. We don’t know what tomorrow will hold. When you make your own plans, you suddenly find yourself undone; and that’s exactly where God wants us in the first place".
Undone was produced by Pete Kipley and was recorded by F. Reid Shippen, Mike O' Connor, and Steve Bishir; recording took place at Blueberry Hill, Sound Stage, Abbey Road, The Indigo Room, Maximedia, Luminous Sound, and The Schwoodio. Mixing was conducted by F. Reid Shippen and Lee Bridges, while mastering was done by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. The string tracks on "Homesick", "Where You Lead Me", "Unaware", and "Here with Me" were arranged by Rob Mathes and recorded by Simon Rhodes and Andrew Dudman at Abbey Road. The cello on "Keep Singing" was performed by Matt Slocum.
Read more about this topic: Undone (Mercy Me Album)
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