With 2008's PEACE ON EARTH, Casting Crowns joins many of its Christian-rock peers in the we-finally-made-a-holiday-album club. In contrast to its regular studio offerings, the Florida-based band generally avoids its guitar-heavy post-grunge sound, instead employing a string section to stirring ...

Unquestionably Stryper's strongest and most rockin' album, To Hell with the Devil was a tough act to follow. Instead of following it up with something equally intense, the band stressed its pop side on In God We Trust. Though not ...

These are the seminal '60s recordings of contemporary gospel's best-selling group, before the group's more recent rapprochements with r&b, soul, and disco. (One can sort of see that evolution here--on one of the later cuts, "Nobody Can Turn Me Around," ...

"My Heart Will Go On" won the 1999 Grammy for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For A Motion Picture Or For Television. TITANIC contains new orchestral versions of themes from various productions of "Titanic" ...

GREATEST HYMNS collects highlights from Selah's first four studio albums, and provides an ideal introduction to this Contemporary Christian outfit. Selah merges traditional hymns with soulful R&B and world-music flavors (particularly the folk music of Africa, where two the trio's ...

Giving the Hillsong collective a run for its money, the worship team known as Passion rocks hard and brings the grandeur on White Flag, an album recorded live at Passion 2012, the Christian Conference held at the Georgia World Congress ...

ALMOST THERE is state-of-the-art worship rock from the wittily named quintet whose major label debut this is. Mercyme have an almost '80s style, and unless you listen closely to their lyrics you could mistake ALMOST THERE for something by the ...

Arranger: Matthew Gerrard. Personnel: Jaci Velasquez (vocals); Oleta Adams (vocals). Editor: Kent Holmes.

Christian rock music's detractors often cite the eternally sunny, feel-good "I'm okay, you're okay" attitude of many CCM albums as a quality antithetical to real rock & roll. While Casting Crowns certainly offer their fair share of optimistic praise, the ...

Recording information: Ben's Place; Skaggs Place Studio; The Sound Shop; The Tracking room. Photographer: Lee Steffen . Personnel: Becky Isaacs Bowman (vocals, guitar); Sonya Isaacs (vocals, mandolin); Ben Isaacs, Lily Isaacs (vocals); Thomas Wywrot, Bryan Sutton (guitar, banjo); Ilya Toshinsky (guitar); Kelly ...

Today's Gospel Favorites is a collection of contemporary inspirational material, capably performed by The Statler Brothers. While the music is impeccably produced and the group is in fine voice, the disc doesn't provide many distinguished moments, even though the entire ...

Not the greatest hits compilation one might expect from the title, Pastor Hezekiah Walker's 20/85 THE EXPERIENCE is an all-new live set that was recorded at a special service celebrating Walker's two decades as a recording artist. The eleven tracks ...

In a world of Contemporary Christian Music acts playing lighter-than-air pop music with only the mildest spiritual content, Guy Penrod is an old-school throwback. Penrod's looks suggest a cross between Kenny Rogers and Ray Stevens, and he sings country/western-based gospel ...

Ignore the silly "Mr. D.J." intro and you'll discover that Haddon is a bright new presence in the realm of hip-hop gospel who seeks to blend old-school musical values with funky modern production. The thumping grooves and smooth backing vocals ...

Track Listing: Footprints in the Sand; I Believe in Angels, Also Known as, I Have a Dream; He Sees My Heart; Sweet Hour of Prayer; What a Friend We Have in Jesus; Standing on the Promises; Lay It on Me; ...

Remastered by Shelton Morgan at The Green Room, Nashville, Tennesse. A solid overview of the many hits by contemporary gospel star Yolanda Adams, GREATEST HITS gathers 12 of her finest. Covering material stretching all the way back to her 1988 debut, ...

In the world of contemporary Christian music, releasing an album that you could easily apply the descriptor "understated" to is a rare thing indeed. Yet that's just what Brandon Heath has done on his fourth full-length. In place of the ...

The Gaither Vocal Band, led by CCM icon Bill Gaither, has been spreading the good word in one form or another since 1981. Part of EMI/Universal's Icon series, this budget-priced compilation features 11 of the Southern gospel group's most notable ...

Track Listing: DISC 1: Here I Am to Worship; Open the Eyes of My Heart; Blessed Be Your Name; Come, Now Is the Time to Worship; Shout to the Lord; Lord, I Lift Your Name on High; Forever; God of ...

Track Listing: Down Thru My Years; It's a Blessing to Be Alive; I Walk by Faith; Bye and Bye; Anybody Know Jesus; Out on God Word; Lord I'm Coming Home; Rock, The; Trouble of This World; My New Home; So Many Times; Upper Room, The;

Twenty-Six gorgeous tracks from Walter Hawkins & the Hawkins Family appear on this wonderful double-disc set, each CD containing 13 songs. As with the work of older brother Edwin Hawkins the family here combines inspiration with soaring pop power that ...

Track Listing: Show Me Your Face; Show Me Your Face; Behind the Veil; Behind the Veil; Prophecy; Take Me In; I'm Gonna Move Amoung You; More Today; I Will Praise Him; Forever Grateful; Am Prayer/Arise My Lord; Am Prayer/Arise My Lord; Am Prayer/Arise My Lord;

Recorded live at The Carpenter's Home Church, Lakeland, Florida on June 1, 2001 and at Bridgeway Studio, Nashville, Tennessee. WORSHIP was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. While Michael W. Smith has made his name in Christian ...

A posthumous Grammy winner, this 1990 album by the most influential male gospel performer of the post-war era was recorded live, which is both its strength and its weakness. As expected, the performances--either by the gruff-voiced Cleveland, the Southern California ...

It's no mystery why Disneyland adopted the Mike Curb Congregation's rendition of "It's a Small World" as the official version of its theme song -- the group's clean-cut optimism and genteel style is a ringer for the pop choruses of ...