Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Nope, we're not talking about a Christian police force, instead this is a compilation of Jesus Music with a more rocky persuasion and plenty of fuzzy guitars, cheaply recorded tracks and vintage Jesus messages. There was a time when this was the wildest Christian music on the planet and the mixture of hippie and psychedelic influences make for compelling listening if, like me, you're into such things. Plenty of these songs were recorded for albums that bands recorded themselves in the days before Christian record labels showed the slightest interest in recording rock music. The album lives up to its name with the opening cut "It's Been Sent Down" by The Excursions which features some fabulous guitar. Okay, a lot of this hasn't travelled well and some of these songs sound like they were recorded in the toilet when you consider the amount of reverb on the vocals, but it's an excellent document of how Jesus Music sounded in its heyday. The bluesy apocalyptic "Rejoice" from Agape and Stonewall Cross's "Majic Man" are excellent pieces that sum up the creativity of the era. Mind, you can wonder at the female singer from The Search Party whose punishing high vocals could summon all the doggies in the neighbourhood! The good stuff makes up for all of that and although some of these groups like Stonewall Cross, All Saved Freak Band and Agape have been compiled elsewhere, if you're interested in this period of church history or music, this is an essential listen!

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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