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

870. CHARLIE PEACOCK - DEATH TRAP, 2012. From the album 'No Man's Land', Twentyten.
As most followers of CCM will know, Charlie is a hugely talented producer able to take a wide range of artists and give them Christian radio hits. But when it comes to his own albums he refuses to remain shackled by the demands of format-fixated radio and has released in the past albums of instrumental jazz or in this case an album that at different times hints at the music of Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and John Hiatt though never aping any of them. Also, Charlie's voice, still at times uncannily close to Smokey Robinson's sensuous high tenor, adds another dimension to the songs on 'No Man's Land' which take country music as their starting point. The lyric of "Death Trap" is a reflection on the book of James' warning that our unbridled tongues will cause us all kinds of pain. Peacock pleads with the Lord to help him keep his tongue in check.
Tony Cummings

871. PHIL KEAGGY - FOLLOW ME UP, 1978. From the album 'The Master & The Musician', Myrrh.
Having been one of the pioneers in establishing, if not a genre at least a marketing niche, with CCM the multi-talented Keaggy bemused Christian radio and retailers in 1978 with 'The Master & The Musician' album starting off the whole tiresome "can instrumental music be Christian music?" debate that even today refuses to die. It was the guitarist maestro's first all instrumental album and despite initial incomprehension it's subsequently been recognised as a classic. Eventually Musician Magazine was listing Keaggy as one of the Top Guitarists Of The 20th Century. Reviewer Mark Allender wrote how 'The Master & The Musician' is "full of emotional twists, meditative sounds and world influenced tonalities." "Follow Me Up" is a breathtaking example of one of popular music's great talents.
Tony Cummings

872. KANSAS - GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS, 1983. From the album 'Drastic Measures', Kirshner.
When frontman Steve Walsh left Kansas they brought in singer, songwriter and producer John Elefante which signalled their move from their proggy heritage to a sound which was feisty, radio friendly rock. And so it came to pass that in 1983 the band delivered one of the truly great AOR albums, 'Drastic Measures', with "Going Through The Motions" one of several killer tracks. A pomp-tinged tour de force, journalist Tim Jones enthused about its "looming synths and intricate percussive swipes." Just as telling were the lyrics penned by John and his brother Dino with its nagging chorus "Is your day just a reflection of the day before?/Don't you ever stop and wonder if there's something more?/Do you really mean to tell me that you're satisfied?/Are you for real or are you going through the motions?" Pointed questions indeed.
Tony Cummings

Gungor

873. GUNGOR - GOD AND COUNTRY, 2013. From the album 'I Am Mountain', Hither & Yon.
The problematic way in which believers throw around the phrases "Christian music" and "worship leader" has led Michael Gungor and his wife Lisa to try affixing a new label to their loose knit collective though whether "liturgical post rock" will do for long remains to be seen. No matter. What must be acknowledged is that the Gungors have done wonders in broadening both the musical palate and the lyrical themes of music made by believers. With its arresting chorus "God we love our God/Oh God we love our guns" "God And Country" is a withering cry of protest against the American Church's xenophobic excesses. The singer/songwriter himself wrote, "What I find incredibly ironic and perverse is how religion and violence often get tangled up together. It boggles my mind that, in the US at least, it is often the 'God fearing Christians' that are the most trigger happy, pro-war people on the planet. That would be like if a group of Richard Dawkins followers started a new theistic religion with Dawkins books. It would be precisely the opposite effect that Dawkins intended with his writing. While the American Jesus of the political right in the US tends to be a homophobic grouch with a shotgun in his hand, the Jesus of the Gospels was nonviolent. That's just painfully obvious in the writings, and so curiously missing from the religious views of people who like to claim that they take the whole Bible literally Jesus taught his followers to turn their cheek and pray for their enemies and warned that those who live by the sword die by the sword."
Tony Cummings

874. CANDLE - PATIENCE, 1977. From the album 'The Music Machine', Sparrow.
Children's music seldom connects with adults, particularly parents (like this one) who in years past have been subjected to endless plays of simplistic ditties by over enthusiastic kiddie winkers. But amazingly this track has stood the test of time. It comes from one of the biggest selling Christian albums of all time, the three million seller 'The Music Machine'. Candle was an evangelistic ministry located first in California and then Lindale, Texas, who as well as the Candle name also operated as Agape Force. In 1977 they released 'The Music Machine' where Steve, Nancy and Mr Conductor encounter all kinds of wonders. This song was one of nine teaching about the various fruit of the Spirit, co-written and sung by Frank Hernandez (in character as Herbert The Snail), is impossible to forget and is enthused about on the internet nearly 40 years on. Maybe it's Hernandez's doleful vocal which gets slower and slower as the song continues. Maybe it's the excellent production by Fletch Wiley, the fine jazz trumpeter who was once a member of Andrae Crouch's Disciples. Or maybe it's just that the message ("Be patient, be patient, don't be in such a hurry") is still a salient message for this hyper-fast generation.
Tony Cummings

875. BOB DYLAN - TEMPEST, 2012. From the album 'Tempest, Columbia.
Possibly the bard's greatest song since "Every Grain Of Sand", this 14-minute epic retelling of the sinking of the Titanic is breathtaking. Based, at least in part, on "The Titanic" (or "When That Ship Went Down") - a folk song once recorded by the likes of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly - "Tempest" includes in its masterly narrative several references to a "sleeping watchman" echoing Jesus' warning in Matthew 25:13 and a bishop who comes "to help all those in need" and turning his eyes Heavenwards declares, "The poor are yours to feed.
Tony Cummings

876. PEDRO THE LION - HOLE, 1997. From the EP 'Whole', Tooth & Nail.
When Seattle songsmith David Bazan and his loose collective of musicians first emerged with this release they immediately received accolades form the growing band of Christian hipsters. If some of the more clamorous accolades proclaiming Pedro releases as towering works of genius teetered close to hyperbole, there is no doubting that Bazan was and is a gifted indie rock songsmith. On this, Pedro's debut release, "Hole" expresses spiritual hunger with child-like eloquence. "A hole that big I'd never seen before/In the tummy of a good ol' boy who always wanted more/Then just yesterday I saw him satisfied/It seems he'd met the hole-fixin' man, much to his surprise/But are you for real Mr Hole Fixin' Man?/You fixed my friend can you fix me?"
Tony Cummings

877. BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON - HE AROSE FROM THE DEAD, 1927. From the various artists album 'Texas Blues', Big3.
A write-up of a box set by the seminal blues singer/guitarist Jefferson called him "the first country blues superstar" which is kind of right if you consider his gigantic musical influence on subsequent generations and his classic songs like "Black Snake Moan" and "Match Box Blues" (recorded by the Beatles) but gives no indication of the poverty-racked tragedy of much of Jefferson's life. Most of his life Lemon Henry Jefferson hustled for dimes in the towns of East Texas. In the book Tolbert's Texas it states that the street musician "star" was killed while being robbed of a large royalty payment from Paramount Records, who released Blind Lemon's flow of 78s, by a guide escorting Jefferson to Chicago's Union Station to catch a train home to Texas. As well as Lemon's salty and occasionally salacious blues songs, Blind Lemon also recorded number of traditional spirituals and original songs like the haunting "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (a wish which for decades remained unfulfilled, his grave being allowed to clog with weeds) under the name Deacon L J Bates. In fact it was under that pseudonym that he had first released the powerful "He Arose From The Dead".
Tony Cummings

Bryan & Katie Torwalt

878. BRYAN & KATIE TORWALT - HOLY SPIRIT, 2011. From the album 'Here On Earth', Jesus Culture Music.
When the Torwalts released their 'Here On Earth' album with the Jesus Culture band, it didn't take long for the international Church to recognise that "Holy Spirit" was a classic song. Over a haunting melody the lyrics plead for an active experience of God's presence. The reality is that it's simply not enough to have a head belief of God's omnipresence. We need the Holy Spirit to bring "the sweetest of loves" into our experience. Bryan's tender, poignant vocal and the surging intro of the band, with Jeffrey Kinde's guitar in overdrive, make this a masterly chunk of modern worship.
Tony Cummings

879. SEPTEMBER - PRELUDE/JESTER, 1981. From the album 'September First', Sugar.
America's brother and sister Dale & Russ Kirkland with some musical friends managed to release four fine though startlingly diverse albums on their own Sugar Records. Their first offered Christopher Cross-style pop and their last was techno rock. But it was on the 1981 album 'September First' that their considerable talents bore the greatest creative fruit with what was one of the best produced and most ambitious independent albums ever. "Prelude" kicks off with sister Dale's Karen Carpenter-ish voice accompanied by Russ' elegant concert grand then suddenly lurches into the highly dramatic "Jester" complete with howling rock guitar before cutting away to classical-style piano and then returning to a burst of Russ' rasping vocals over thudding rhythm. Christian-themed prog had never sounded better.
Tony Cummings

880. SEPTEMBER - RELATE IT TO ME, 1981. From the album 'September First', Sugar.
It was probably the unbridled eclecticism and sheer creative dexterity that ensured 'September First' never got much airplay to escape the obscurity which besets nearly all independent releases. But those blessed few who did get their hands on copies have now written on the internet praising 'September First' as an undiscovered classic. One fan enthused, "Imagine Servant as an AOR and borderline progressive band in the vein of Styx with much more melody and more ballads." After the dazzling "Prelude/Jester" opener the Kirklands followed it with "Relate It To Me" featuring one of the most infectious rock riffs complete with a shredding axe solo. If only mainstream rock radio had got to hear this cut things could have been so different for September. But then, what is rock stardom's loss is the Church's gain. Russ and Dale Kirkland were last heard of ministering at Windsor Crossing Community Church in St Louis, Missouri. One wonders what eclectic musical delights are heard within that particular sanctuary.
Tony Cummings