Tony Cummings embarks on a personal pilgrimage to locate the 1001 greatest Christian tracks ever recorded.

37. JOHN PANTRY - EMPTY HANDED. From the album 'Empty Handed', Kingsway, 1978.
As any composer will tell you the toughest thing to do in popular music is to write a truly simple, yet truly memorable song. John did it in 1978. Already a seasoned studio pro by the time he cut his first Christian music album John has never recorded a better song than this. A lugubrious ballad with a stark piano led accompaniment the whole effect is achieved by the strength of the haunting melody, the direct simplicity of the lyrics and a voice which teeters between tremulous uncertainty and triumphant faith. As a piece of interpretive singing it's never been surpassed in British pop gospel.

38. ELDER CURRY - MEMPHIS FLU. From the album 'God Give Me Light 1927-1931', Herwin, 1980.
Among the many strands of music history still to be unravelled by the ethno-musicologists is the key contribution made by the 'sanctified piano' players whose stomping two-hand attacks on the keyboards were not only one of the most exciting sounds ever committed to shellac but were a key musical element in the development of ragtime boogie, jazz and (later of course) rock'n'roll. The gloriously named Arizona Dranes was probably the best known exponent of this style but judging from this delicious recording cut in Mississippi in 1930 one Charles Beck was her equal. Mr Beck gave a stomping accompaniment to a Church Of God In Christ group led by guitarist McGhee and with a ragged chorus headed by Jo Ann Williams singing a song also recorded under different titles by pre-war gospel giant Rev McGee. That's the fax 'n' info for the discographically inclined. For those who just want to hear romping gospel piano played by a digit-flying wizard begin searching for this vinyl re-issue.

39. LESLIE PHILLIPS - STRENGTH OF MY LIFE. From the album 'Dancing With Danger', Myrrh, 1984.
The general consensus is that the T-Bone Burnett produced The Turning' is Lesley/Sam's finest album. Certainly her other albums, as the brittle-voiced singer strove to find her stylistic niche, are rather patchy. But on this track a minor masterpiece was created. A ballad which envelopes the listener with the swirling understatedness of its arrangement and a lyric (weeping in the shower no less) which could have been pure bathos in the hands of a lesser singer but takes on the vivid dimension of a soul-exposing itself for art's sake in the hands of Leslie. As she reaches for her Bible we're ready for the anthem of faith. "Be the strength of my life/ the strength of my life/ the strength of my life today." Such is its surging resonance that at least one church has extracted the chorus to use in times of praise and worship. But you need to hear that breathy, vulnerable voice, the state-of-the-art accompaniment (Dann Huff, Nathan East, et al) and Russ Taff s soulful interjections on the climax to get the full effect.

40. PAUL CLARK - LOVE OF MY LIFE. From the album 'Out Of The Shadow', Us Myrrh/UK Myrrh, 1984.
Another uncredited duet, this one featuring the delicious voice of Kelly Willard, the Californian lady who's added her superlative lead and backing vocals to seemingly hundreds of albums. Like the Leslie Phillips cut (which would make a perfect segue to this all you creative DJs) this is a ballad duet, and again like "Strength Of My Life" is a hybrid which in addition to pop gospel performance could be used in the context of praise and worship. Paul Clark is a Californian songwriting craftsman who was popular Stateside for a decade but seems to have faded into custom-album obscurity in recent years. A shame as the man, whether singing the country and folk-tinged songs of his early albums or the jazz fusion style songs of much of this album had a rare way with melody and lyric. His art has never been better displayed than on this beautiful ballad which takes as its lyrical focus the Lord's supper.

As published in CR5, 1st April 1991
41. JON GIBSON - MERRY GO ROUND. From the album 'Body And Soul', Frontline,1988.
After the devastating contemporary funk of 'Change Of Heart' the doyens of Christian blue eyed soul were a little taken aback by 'Body And Soul'. Here was a much softer often acoustic album, with a new line in thoughtful introspection for that gloriously sinuous Stevie-like voice to wrap around. Less immediate than its predecessor it did contain this stone classic, a mid tempo ballad with a haunting hook, and a lyric which observed that it was a merciful God who allowed the whole carousel of human existence to keep turning. A prime example of a track that released as a single and promoted heavily could have made it to the pop charts such is the quality of the song.

42. JON GIBSON - THE WALL. From the album 'Change Of Heart', Frontline, 1987.
Seldom has contemporary soul and sensibility - smacking rap been fused so effectively as on this funk tour-de-force from 1987. Probably best remembered now as the recording debut of MC, Jon now refuses to sing the song until "until MC Hammer returns to the Lord". What the teaming of one of America's most talented blue-eyed soulsters and one of the pioneering old school rappers produced was a riveting denouncement of every kind of prejudice and division the walls of which will one day come crashing down. The section where the pumped-up bass comes in for a break would wrench the most jaded limbs into dancefloor action.

43. NO LAUGHING MATTER - RELIGION SUCKS. From the album 'It Bites K-Mart Shoppers', independent, 1986.
This is the kind of marvellous track which makes worthwhile wading through endless hours of badly recorded and played grunge looking for the occasional gems thrown up by America and Canada's 'Christian Music Underground'. That garage-and-bedroom music scene has a bevy of underground magazines to publicise the welter of speed metal, anarcho punk et al coming from Christians as an abrasive alternative musical statement to the Amy's, Michaels and Dove Awards. This Canada-based band, headed by the resplendently named Ted Worthless, even have their own fanzine, White Noize - a gloriously jumbled 'Sniffin' Glue' with apocalyptic sensibility. Some of No Laughing Matter's voluminous, independent output is dire (not surprising as they seem to make a live tape of every gig they do) but here they settle for a droning riff and a chilling denouncement of religion as opposed to Christianity. Just in case any listener is confused the next track is a spoken explanation emphasising No Laughing Matter are not saying stop going to church! Brilliant in its own minimalist way.

44. DENIECE WILLIAMS - WE SING PRAISES. From 'Special Love', Sparrow, 1988.
Actually a duet with fellow believer Natalie Cole (let's hope we don't have to wait much longer for her gospel debut), this is Niecey at her finest soaring and swooping on a song which is a self-composed praise and worship chorus. So often P&W production values are often no more than turning a tape recorder on in front of a congregation or wrapping a simple tune up in layer-upon-layer of sickly sweet MOR irrelevancies, so it is a delight to hear here a chorus arranged with imagination and flare. The song is a beauty - it has long been a favourite at my family's worship times - while the last two times round on the close feature Deniece and Natalie swapping soulful phrases is delicious, capped by Natalie's growled exhortation just before the fade "I'm not ashamed of the name of Jesus".

45. SEVENTH ANGEL - FORBIDDEN DESIRES. From the album 'The Torment', White Metal, 1990.
When I played an excerpt of this at a Heavy Metal seminar I gave at Scotland's Impact Festival, one could almost see the dropping jaws. Those who still labour under the misapprehension that Christian heavy metal is all youth pastors performing tired AC/DC retreads in a misguided pursuit of youth culture relevancy should catch these sanctified warriors of the mosh pit. This is, for me, their piece de resistance. A guitar riff searingly jagged enough to hover on the pain threshold, a nice full wall of sound from the guys and some meaty stop-start-fast-slow thrash drumming virtuosity from Tank only let down by the slight biscuit tin quality of the snare. If all this wasn't enough, there's also Ian Arkley growling his powerful lyric about the unspeakable dangers of submitting to lust. Thrash for the thinking mosher.

46. WASHINGTON PHILLIPS - DENOMINATION BLUES. From the album 'Sanctified Singers Part 2', American Music Series, 1969.
Mr Washington was a street musician who during the 1920s recorded a handful of sides including this stone classic which says more about the sin of sectarian divisions in the body of Christ than a dozen ecumenical conferences. For a street musician Washington was unusual both in instrumentation (favouring a zither rather than a guitar) and in style (sometimes singing archaic folk ballad forms which pre-dated the blues and blues-gospel) but was a master of his art and here intones a poignant catalogue of the different denomination's particular beliefs (I bet you always wanted to know what African Methodists believe) concluding with the observation that all believers truly need is Jesus "and that's all".

47. SEVENTY SEVENS - DENOMINATION BLUES. From the album 'Ping Pong Over The Abyss', Exit, 1983.
There's probably not been a better Christian band in the post punk/new wave tradition than Mike Roe's California revolutionaries and the impact of their 'Abyss' album debut had in 1983 is still hard to describe considering how dated much of the post-Clash punk posturings of others sound today. It is a tribute that several cuts on the album still sparkle in the '90s with a pristine freshness, including the chilling "It's So Sad" and its logical successor "Falling Down A Hole" but best of all is this artful contemporisation of Washington Phillips' anthem with which a lilting rock rhythm takes on a whole new dimension as the lyrics bite deep. As the man wrote all those years back. "You can go to college, you can go to school/But unless you have Jesus you're an educated fool". Say amen somebody.

48. TOMMY ELLISON AND THE FIVE SINGING STARS - I'M GUILTY OF LOVING GOD PTS 1 & 2. HSE, 1971.
Back in the '60s when still a mohair-suited youth, I was enamoured by 'deep soul' - ballads by ex-gospel singers who wallowed in stark emotionalism tearing every little vestige of pathos from dirge-slow 'churchy' sounding songs. There was one song, which was a particular favourite, sometimes it was called "I Stand Accused" though my favourite version, including a testifying monologue was by Inez Foxx and was entitled "Guilty". It was only last year that I discovered the probable root-source of all those songs, this breathtaking gospel 45 by one of the Southern States unsung gospel heroes (despite some excellent albums in the '70s for Nashboro) who recorded this preach (part one) and sing (part two) admission that when he gets to the Judgement the only thing he's likely to be found guilty of is loving God too much. Slightly odd theology but devastatingly powerful soul-gospel that deserves a vinyl (sorry CD) re-issue from somebody.

49. MARGARET BECKER - STAY CLOSE TO ME. From the album 'Immigrant's Daughter', Sparrow, 1988.
It was Cross Rhythms lovely Prayer Supporter coordinator Susan Edmonds who drew my attention to this particular gem. Margaret has a voice with the power and passion to slice through the heaviest rock rhythm (check out the wonderful "Commit" on 'Immigrants Daughter' superlatively produced by Charlie Peacock). But it's this exquisite, tremulous ballad, which scales the highest heights; with a vocal at times no more than the merest whisper, Margaret intones a prayer to the Lord. Quite beautiful.

50. IONA - HERE I STAND. From the album 'lona', What?, 1990.
The willingness of lona's singer Joanne Hogg to sacrifice a lucrative career in medicine to pursue music should have by now have brought her and her brilliant fellow lona musicians far more support from Britain's underdeveloped Christian music scene. As it is, despite lona's breathtaking debut album being heralded by the Christian press as a classic there have been precious few gig opportunities and one is left wondering how much longer Britain's relatively well-off Christian community is going to ignore its brothers and sisters with such powerful musical gifts yet be prepared to sink big money into many less worthy causes. Be that as it may, lona's compelling fusion of jazz-rock and Celtic-folk is still a wonderfully welcome creative wind of change. This beauty, with Joanne's eerily haunting vocal in stark near-acappella, produces goose pimples even after the 200th play.