The latest part of the ongoing series chronicling, in no particular order, the greatest 1001 recordings made by Christian artists

764. SUSAN ASHTON, MARGARET BECKER, CHRISTINE DENTE - ANGELS, 1994. From the album 'Along The Road', Sparrow.
It was a great idea to take three of the finest singers of Nashville CCM to record an album together, particularly when producer and ace guitarist Wayne Kirkpatrick was able to bring in Nashville crème-de-la-crème sessioners with both drummer Steve Brewster and bass player Jimmie Lee Sloas showing the kind of deft touches most musos can only dream about. But it is the quality of those three voices and the excellence of the songs selected which make this an album which still sounds sparklingly fresh 20 years on. Pick of the pile is "Angels", written by Jennifer Kimball and Tom Kimmel and with a purred lead vocal by Out Of The grey's Christine Dente which, when it reaches the chorus of "We're lifted up by angels," never fails to stir the soul.
Tony Cummings

765. MICHAEL KNOTT - HALO, 2001. From the album 'The Life Of David', Metro 1 Music.
Michael Knott has a long rock history, including his numerous albums fronting Lifesavers Underground, his critically acclaimed but unsuccessful mainstream pitch with the Aunt Bettys, and his occasional sortes as a solo songsmith. Yet this man, once described as "the chameleon of spiritual rock," has had to battle personal demons, including alcoholism, which have sometimes affected his art. On this album, supposedly inspired by the biblical King David but more often a highly personal reflection on the traumas of a thwart relationship, his songwriting reaches its climax, "I see something in her eyes/Kick and screaming on the outside/Something hidden within/I think she knows about it/Cause when she holds me close/I here her soul." A memorable song from a troubled talent.
Tony Cummings

766. SPIRIT OF MEMPHIS QUARTET - EVERY DAY AND EVERY HOUR, 1951. From the album 'Happy In The Service Of The Lord', Acrobat.
The Spirit Of Memphis were one of the most influential church-wrecking quartets of the late '40s and 1950. This stunning track, recorded in Cincinnati on 5th May 1951 for King Records, featured the group's smooth-as-silk harmonies over which Willmer "Little Axe" Broadnax offers an every-intensifying hard lead which is truly mesmerising.
Tony Cummings

767. HILLSONG CHAPEL - SAVIOUR KING, 2010. From the album 'Yahweh', Hillsong Music.
Marty Sampson's and Mia Fieldes' "Saviour King" first came to our attention as the title track of Hillsong's live worship set of 2007 but it took this deft, stripped down version led by worship leaders Annie Garratt and Jad Gillies to really bring out the rich appeal of its melody and the joyful vision of the lyrics. The second verse particularly is up there with the very best hymnody. "Let now your Church shine as the Bride/That you saw in your heart/As you offered up your life/And now the lost be welcomed home/By the saved and redeemed/Those adopted as your own."
Tony Cummings

Tonio K

768. TONIO K - YOU WERE THERE, 1988. From the album 'Notes From The Lost Civilization', What?
Songsmith Steven M Krikorian (aka Tonio K) has always been the most quixotic of talents and one who in times past has, during various seasons, drawn and repelled Christian music lovers. His vast output of songs have been recorded by such diverse talents as Al Green, Burt Bacharach, Vanessa Williams, Patty Smith and Wynona Judd, while his brief flirtation with the Christian music industry (his two '80s albums for What? Records have long been venerated by Christian hipsters but more conservative elements in the Church have questioned both his insistence that he has been a Christian since birth (Steven was brought up in the Armenian church) and expressed misgivings about his Dadaist psychedelic punk band The Raik's Progress back in 1967 right on through the years to his wince-inducing subdisco song "I'm Supposed To Have Sex With You" for the 1987 movie Summer School. Whatever the contradictions and tongue-in-cheek contrariness of this larger than life artisan, few informed Christian music fans would argue that his What?/A&M albums are masterly music concoctions and 'Notes From The Lost Civilization' having a funkier, more R&B feel than its predecessor, clever songs and all star accompanists including Booker T Jones, T-Bone Burnett and Peter Case. The absolute standout is "You Were There" with its memorable lyrics a breathtaking glimpse of the afterlife: "Well it might have been a vision/Or it might have been a dream/Like a photograph of Eden/It was like no place I'd ever seen/And you were there waiting for me/You shined the light when I couldn't see/I stood at the gate like a stranger/And you were there waiting for me." If only some of our modern worship songsmiths would stop for a while in their paraphrases of Scripture and use their visions and dreams to create rock art as memorable as this.
Tony Cummings

769. GOSPEL CLEFS - OPEN OUR EYES, 1958. From the various artists album 'Gospel The Old Time Way', Steppin Muzak.
Long before Andrae Crouch sensed what way the wind was blowing and started working on the accompaniments and production sound of the Disciples to bring gospel music into line with the increasingly sophisticated sounds of soul/R&B, New Jersey's Leon Lumpkin was pioneering something similar with his group the Gospel Clefs, blending R&B into the musical mix. Unfortunately, in the early years the label to whom the Gospel Clefs were signed, the traditionalist Savoy Records, never gave the group full reign and decent recording budgets to go too far though by the time Leon and his group cut their final album for Verve Records in 1967 a full soul gospel sound had evolved. In 1958 the Gospel Clefs recorded the Lumpkin song "Open Our Eyes" with Charles Ferren singing lead. It was a moving prayer ("Father, open our eyes that we may see/To follow thee, oh Lord/Grant us thy loving peace, oh yeah/And let all dissention cease"). It wasn't until 1974 when Earth, Wind & Fire enjoyed a platinum selling album with "Open Our Eyes" as its title track that the potential of Lumpkin's vision finally became clear.
Tony Cummings

770. ABIGAIL WASHBURN - CITY OF REFUGE, 2011. From the album 'City Of Refuge', Rounder.
Critics have tied themselves in knots about Abigail's music, calling it "bluegrass", "folk", or "Americana". What they are agreed on is that this haunting singer and dazzling exponent of the clawhammer banjo is one of the most delightful sounds in roots music. Abigail says she is a Christian but with beliefs about Christ's exclusivity that aren't orthodox. Leaving that aside, the singer/songwriter's poetically crafted songs are rich in the struggles to find spiritual reality in the disappointments and enigmas of our lives. The title track on her second album expresses the heartfelt desire to "run, run, run to the city of refuge" where there's shelter from a life where "Momma's got a lover, poppa thinks he's sober/Pray on my knees the clouds keep rolling over."
Tony Cummings

771. DON FRANCISCO - IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT, 1991. From the album 'Vision Of The Valley', Star Song.
Veteran US singer/songwriter Don Francisco is well known for writing songs that challenge complacent thinking towards matters of faith and this little gem is a case in point. Deceptively upbeat, the track shuffles along country style with a genial vocal from Francisco that highlights the many ways we human beings seek to blame anyone but ourselves for the many mistakes we make in life. With tongue-in-cheek but both feet firmly in the truth, Francisco suggests scapegoats such as our parents, society, the Devil and "even God himself" are free from blame when it is in fact our own disobedience that gets us into trouble. Following a delightfully cheesy synth solo, Francisco then goes on to provide the spiritual solution to the problem of blame apportion with lines like "don't yell at the wife and don't kick the cat/Just tell God the truth - he'll listen to that" which, together with Francisco's amusing muttered ending, typify the song's ability to make the listener chuckle whilst providing something of a punch when it comes to taking responsibility for ill-advised actions.
Lins Honeyman

772. STORM - LOOK AT THE LIFE, 1998. From the album 'Storm', Survivor.
Formed as a Soul Survivor schools band and featuring Beth Redman and Lucy West amongst its members, the 'Storm' album was stillborn and the group disbanded almost as soon as they were formed. The album was 1998 Christian dance pop of a similar ilk to the music coming out of The Message at the time. It was produced by Matt Redman with help from various luminaries of the time including Zarc Porter. "Look At The Life" highlights a great deal of what made this album so poptastic. There's a hooky song, imaginative production, Beth Redman's soulful diva vocals and Glenn Ross's economic rapping. Because of Storm's shortlived history, this great opening track from a fab album was almost completely overlooked at the time.
Mike Rimmer

All Sons & Daughters

773. ALL SONS & DAUGHTERS - I AM SET FREE, 2012. From the album 'Season One', Integrity.
Franklin, Tennessee-based worship leader Leslie Jordan and former frontman of Southern rockers Jackson Waters, David Leonard, decided in 2009 to start writing worship songs together. They could hardly have dreamed that their first two albums would chart in both Billboard's Christian and Folk charts. The blend of organic acoustic feel, light wistful harmonies and a constructive yet poetic approach to songwriting is an extremely appealing one and the anthemic "I Am Set Free" is a celebratory delight. Worship Leader magazine described All Sons & Daughters as "the most enchanting sound emerging from the worship scene."
Tony Cummings

774. ELDER SAMUEL PATTERSON & THE CHRISTIAN CRUSADERS - THIS TRAIN, 1963. From the various artists album 'Fire In My Bones', Tompkins Square.
Little is known about Elder Samuel Patterson except that he led the Robert Patterson Singers from 1952 to 1968 and continued to record into the '70s, as stated in the sleevenotes of the superlative 'Fire In My Bones' compilation on which this deliciously raw slice of gospel blues is featured. A traditional song made famous by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the 1939 and secularised by blues harp maestro Little Walter as the hugely successful "My Babe" 16 years later, Patterson's version leaves all other renditions standing at the station thanks to its breakneck speed and a relentless energy that ensures the song never runs out of steam. Proving that the sum is greater than its parts, the ramshackle combination of only an electric guitar, some sporadic female backing vocals, a walking bass organ part, a tambourine and some frantic piano playing is perfect as Patterson passionately extols the virtue of the train bound for glory making for a timeless classic.
Lins Honeyman

775. BEEHIVE - GET BUSY, 1996. From the album 'Brand New Day', Word.
In the midst of the British acid jazz scene in the late '90s, this brilliant track featured on the 'Brand New Day' album which won the 1998 MOBO Award for the best gospel album for the band formerly known as Funky Beehive. Removing Funky from the band's name didn't jettison the funk from the band's music as this track amply demonstrates. "Get Busy" starts with a groove driven by bassist Paul Lancaster whose sterling work propels the track along and builds a platform for a fab horn arrangement from Ben Castle, some soulful vocals from Kaz Lewis and an overall party-like atmosphere. There's even a Prince-like break down two thirds of the way in and the track ends with some brilliant psych guitar work. Still a floor-filler in my kitchen 15 years later!
Mike Rimmer

776. CHIP KENDALL - SUNSHINE, 2012. From the album 'Holy Freaks', Independent.
After the rather underwhelming 'K Is For Kendall' EP released on his departure from Thebandwithnoname, many wondered whether the California-born, Manchester-based singing evangelist would ever find again the hyper-energised heights he reached with tbwnn. In fact he has, if anything, gone further in fusing dance R&B, rock rap and pop hooks into something utterly infectious. And as the singer/author/broadcaster observed himself, there's something deliciously ironic about singing "step into the sunshine" at a rain-soaked festival.
Tony Cummings

777. OUT OF DARKNESS - THERE YOU SEE A STRANGER, 1970. From the album 'Out Of Darkness', Key.
Forget the nonsense you might read elsewhere about how Christian rock music was invented on the west coast of America by Jesus hippies blah blah blah. In fact the British beat boom spawned loads of little Christian combos playing coffee bars and church halls up and down the land. Out of that scene came one of the most radical Christian rock bands ever. Out Of Darkness were built around amazing guitarist Ray Powell and the band's 1970 debut album saw them creating psychedelic rock in a style reminiscent of Hendrix or Cream. This track is a good indication of the band's raw power blues style packed with incendiary Hendrix-style guitar work and heavy grooves. It makes Larry Norman's 'Upon This Rock' from the previous year sound wimpish by comparison. This is the real Jesus rock!
Mike Rimmer