Jonathan Jackson, Hollywood actor and star of the legendary US soap opera General Hospital, has released a pop-rock album along with his band Enation, titled “Basileia ton Ouranon,” which explores the theme of Orthodoxy. The album was sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Vatopedi Monastery and Abbot Ephraim.
Internet radio broadcaster Pemptousia FM of Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece, helped produce the album.
“Bob Dylan said that the highest form of song is prayer. And I believe that. And Bob Dylan and Bono and some of those artists also said that the best songs are not written by us. They’re discovered. They’ve already been written and we just discover them. So, we are dependent on God walking in the room, so to speak, in order to make something of real value. And the prayer for me is for the music and lyrics to create an atmosphere, for some kind of healing to take place, some kind of awakening, yearning. So it’s not written just for people that are Christians, it’s for anybody. And I want the music and lyrics to speak to people no matter where they are,” Jackson said to Pemptousia FM.
The Jackson family embraced Orthodoxy in 2012, which according to the popular actor was “a conscious decision.”
Apart from his career in the small and big screen, Jackson has been involved in the music industry since 2002 with his band Enation. The popular artist is the composer and lyricist of the band. As he said that the 16 songs included in the album “Basileia ton Ouranon” were selected with the help of the Vatopedi Monastery monks.
Does anyone know where this new album can be found?
I’ve heard Jonathan say many times that he hopes to touch people with his music, that it provide healing or comfort. For me, it has done both. God bless him on this journey.
I saw one of the Vatopedi monks in Thessaloniki shortly before the album came out. It was actually published by Pemptousia, the online magazine sponsored by an outstation of Vatopedi. He said that because Jonathan’s lyrics touch on spiritual things, with much of it coming from his life as an Orthodox Christian, and since the lyrics are wrapped in a style of music that would appeal to people who would not normally encounter these messages, they wanted to help the band and its music become known in Greece.
He said that because the album contains a couple of songs from their latest album, the producers stipulated that the album could not be sold in North America. So if you want the album, you have to order it from Greece or elsewhere in Europe. though the CD itself seems to hard to find outside of Greece. I found the MP3 download on Amazon UK and Germany for about the equivalent of $10. But if you already have some of their albums, you might just want to download the songs you don’t have, though several of the songs found on other albums are performed differently (live, acoustic, etc). In an interview, Jonathan mentions that the compilation in collaboration with the monks made it something special, something that he doesn’t believe they could have done better on their own ( http://www.pemptousia.com/video/jonathan-jackson-in-porto-lagos-greece/ ). If you hunt for the album in Greece, google it and check out a few sites. I saw the price range from 10 to 15 euros.
I don’t usually allow links in comments, but I’ll allow this one.
where can get the album.
Try here: AMAZON ENATION