Reviewed by Anthony Longville

Progressive rock is a musical genre that is unfairly maligned. The associations with lead singers who wear dresses, weird concept albums, and keyboard players who have time to eat curry on stage during a particularly long guitar solo are just some of the reasons. So CPR is an attempt to promote the Christian Prog rockers, of whom there are an increasingly healthy number. Progressive rock at its best is about imaginative lyrics and a mix of musical styles undergirded by musicianship of the highest calibre - music which deserves a listening. This volume, released in 2004, was assembled under the eye of co-producer Randy George, himself a player with the excellent Ajalon. The album opens with "Over The Waters", a haunting guitar piece from Iona's David Bainbridge. The better known artists in the prog world include Neal Morse and his "Reunion" here is the grand climax from his album 'One' and a true gem. Equally effective is Glass Hammer with a reworked version of "Heroes And Dragons" from their classic 'Lex Rex', a story of a Roman Soldier who finds what he is looking for, not in the glory of war, or in love, but in Christ. The remaining nine tracks are a smorgasbord of fascinating acts including Simon Apple, David Wallimann, Eric Parker and Revelation Project. Another standout is "Orphan Found" by Orphan Project, one of the album's rocking high points. As a starting point to check out the quickly growing field of Christian progressive rock you can do little better than get hold of this album.

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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