Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

With a title like that, it's impossible not to want to read this outsider's view of Christian rock. Amongst other things, Andrew Beaujon is a journalist with America's Spin magazine and he spent a year trying to get his head around the cultural phenomenon of Christian rock by talking to industry insiders and musicians, hanging out at festivals and events and even attending Gospel Music Week. A cynic might expect a hatchet job. Clearly most of the Nashville based publicists and artists clearly did as they weren't very co-operative. However he manages to get around and make some insightful observations about the scene that any serious lover of Christian music would do well to think about. Wittily written, this is almost a travelogue of his journey and along the way he nails some issues that a lot of journalists would be scared to name. He discusses the ongoing problems of racism within the scene, the love-hate relationship which the CCM industry has with mainstream cultural celebrity and generally how boring a lot of worship music truly is. My favourite quote is "I'm not saved and don't think I ever will be, but if such a miracle were to take place, I can't imagine anything worse than being forced to pay for my salvation by listening to worship music for the rest of my days." Reviewing CDs for these pages, I sometimes feel the same way! He observes that the scene goes bananas when a celebrity, any celebrity (no matter how C list) professes Christ and how strange this is. It features lengthy interviews with the likes of Steve Taylor, CCM Magazine editor Jay Swartzendruber, record executive Bill Hearn and others. I can't argue with a lot of his conclusions! In fact the book would serve as quite a sane introduction to the scene for anyone just getting into Christian music. There's a certain honesty that underpins his questioning and quest for understanding. Overall it made a thoroughly compelling read. Not every point Andrew makes is a good one and his writing style, although witty, isn't up there with the Turners and Gulralnicks. But as a useful reality check of where Christian music sits vis a vis the wider culture, this is a thought-provoking read.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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