Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

The musical history of John Michael Talbot has been well documented. Back in the 1970s he and his brother Terry were well known both in Jesus Music circles and in the mainstream as Mason Proffitt, and in 1976 Billy Ray Hearn signed them to his fledgling Sparrow label. After some recordings in a folk/rock style, John Michael’s spiritual journey then took a totally different direction, which led him into the Roman Catholic Church and to Alverna, a Franciscan monastic order in Indiana; as a result, his music metamorphosed into the familiar acoustic meditational style that has become his trademark. I get the impression that some Christian music buffs consider John Michael to be decidedly uncool, which is a pity (not that I imagine that the man himself cares one iota) so this CD in the History Makers series from Sparrow comes at an opportune moment, and may just win him a few new fans. It covers material from 1979’s ‘The Lord’s Supper’, his first album after joining Alverna, through the 1980s and 1990s to his 2000 release ‘Simple Heart’, and it’s a well-chosen selection and a good place to start if you want to investigate the music of this underrated troubadour for the Lord.

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