Returning to the rootsy sound of his earliest albums (and away from the more experimental Smell the Color 9), Run the Earth... Watch the Sky finds Chris Rice doing what he does best: savoring life and longing for eternity, through poetry filled with sensory stimulation and salt-of-the-earth, whimsical simplicity.

Featuring another collaboration with terrific producer Monroe Jones, Rice has come up with eleven new radio-friendly tracks, all with with his trademark positive outlook on living life to its fullest. This worldview is evident on songs like "Everything's OK," the future Dove Award Song of the Year nominee "Untitled Hymn," and the nature-lovers-unite anthem "My Cathedral." Other songs find him feeling nostalgic for days gone by ("Nonny Nonny," "Eighth Grade") or impatiently waiting for Heaven ("Smile" -- which is guaranteed to induce a smile on your own face, "Wonder," and "Circle Up"). He rounds things out with a few songs asking God to help out some friends ("Me and Becky," "Spare An Angel") and "The Other Side of the Radio," a clever look at what it feels like for an artist to only be welcome on Christian Radio.

- Robin Parrish