Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music [With CDROM] (Recent Releases)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the sleepy title, I expected "Amy Grant" to be the hardest rocking entry, but a majority of the 1900 plus artists profiled are justifiably termed "rock": Stryper? Sam Phillips? Mortal? Deliverance? P.O.D.? MXPX? Yup. They're all here. Powell's original title was much more telling: "Parallel Universe: A Critical Guide to Popular Christian Music."

Powell is nothing if not critical. "Opinionated" was the word the store clerk used. So are all the great rock writers; so are all the great rock books, and despite its encyclopedic format, this is a great rock book. Surprisingly, the author is Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary; not surprisingly, therefore, he argues with the theology in some songs. For instance, he doesn't agree with the idea of "the rapture" popularized by Hal Lindsey's book, The Late Great Planet Earth, and the "Left Behind" series, and prevalent in numerous Jesus Movement-era songs. Most significantly, he takes these artists and their music seriously. This gives the whole genre of gospel rock more signficance than it is often felt to warrant, and certainly more than the tag "ccm" suggests.

If rock rings true, it's because it's about real life. CCM, on the other hand, often sounds phony, stressing the ideal over the real, and marketing over the music. This has left many artists confused, angry and disenchanted. Powell deftly captures the undercurrent of alienation, and the love/hate relationships many artists have with their labels. He also graphs the rise of independent labels like Tooth'n'Nail, and the backlash against business-as-usual "corporate rock." The result is that many artists emerge as "survivors"--ground up and spit out of the music machine, but still standing; Powell's underlying conviction is that it doesn't have to be that way.

Accordingly, he doesn't sidestep the divorces and drugs, lies and lawsuits that attend real history; rather than tarnish these artists, the effect is to increase their street credibility: they emerge as real people instead of cardboard cutouts. By even greater magic of his pen, Powell makes us see all that out-of-print vinyl as a significant part of music history--far too important to relegate to the dustbin of "cookie-cutter" ccm.

Some of the short entries are too short, and many are incomplete, understandable given the mammoth scope of the project. Powell wisely chose to include brief entries when information was unavailable, rather than leave artists out. Some of the long pieces, however, are truly outstanding; the ten page Bob Dylan bio ranks among the best bits on that artist I have read. Again and again I looked up obscure artists I was sure would not be among those present: Larry Norman; After the Fire; Malcom and Alwyn; the Lead; Andy Pratt; Robin Lane; Cliff Richard--each time I was amazed to find that Powell had already been there and done that.

The hefty retail price tag may have kept the ECCM off most fan's light reading list, but Amazon's low price makes it a great gift for music lovers. Powell includes a searchable CD Rom disc and websites for bands to pump up the value, and at 1,088 pages, it's really more reading than three Harry Potter books. Professor Powell has done music fans a great service with this ground- breaking book, unearthing more than forty years of virtually unknown history--yet for all that, it's a very enjoyable read.

Christian rock is adored by a few but is generally ignored within the world of pop music at large and within most segments of Christianity (outside a little ghetto of "evangelical" Christians who sometimes think they are the only ones). Now, in one fell swoop, that has changed forever.

Mark Allan Powell is a world-famous theologian and also a professional rock critic who has worked in the secular field for over 30 years. With this book, for the first time in history, Christian rock is being taken seriously within wider parameters of both religion and culture. He didn't need to do this, and I guess he's not getting anything for it (donating royalties) but he offers it to church and society as "a gift-and as a tribute to some people (the artists) who have made (his) life more meaningful and enjoyable."

What's most important is that the book is a critical resource, not just a collection of press releases. Powell provides all the necessary info about every artist and then also summarizes major reviews of their work that have appeared in the Christian media (gripes from some reviewers about Powell being too "opinionated" fail to notice that 98% of the "opinions" are those of other critics, which he merely reports). Such attention to critical reception is absolutely essential for Christian music ever being taken seriously outside of its own little fan club.

Powell obviously loves this music and strives to put a positive spin on every artist, even those who have been trashed by other critics. Still, he is more interested in promoting Christ than any particular singer or band, much less himself or his own ideas. ....

The book is a simply incredible achievement that will be deeply appreciated by all but the most small-minded.

If you are a fan of CCM, get lots of sleep before cracking this book.

From Transformation Crusade to Tourniquet to Twila, they're all here. I was hard pressed to find a single act not given a mention here. Powell does a good job of devoting the right amount of space to acts depending on the impact and longevity.

Drawbacks:

Every now and then, Powell allows more of his commentary to come through than one would expect in an "Encyclopedia." In my opinion he was unfair to certain artists (especially Petra).

He loves to throw in comparisons to certain bands, especially U2. Comparisons are vital in such a tome and this is fine regarding say, DC Talk's "The Hardway," but seeing it with bands such as East West gets, as he would put it, tiresome.

The thorough and well-crafted writing more than makes up for these minor drawbacks, and ECCM gets an easy 5 stars for effort.

Another plus, the CD Rom is a keystroke of genius. Entries are linked with official web sites, and cross references are linked to their own entries.

The huge variety of the artists contained in this book is a testimony to the diversity within the body of Christ.

I've got to hand it to Mark Allan Powell. This book is an incredible achievement. If he missed even the most obscure bands and artists in the realm of contemporary Christian music, I sure wouldn't know about it. Mainstream artists who have alluded, however obliquely, to Christianity are also, thankfully, included. Some may feel like this volume is even TOO inclusive (I mean, Rick James? Come on!) This is a monumental work that every music fan should own, Christian or not, because it deals with a very important stratus of contemporary music.

The breadth of differing approaches of musicians to their art runs the gamut from those who use music as a purely evangelistic tool to those who do music for it's own sake. The author seems to have a problem with bands who have an "altar-call" mentality, and more than once refers to individual salvation experiences as "individualistic", as if it were some kind of disease. The fine distinction between "evangelical" and "fundamentalist" seems to be lost on the author as well, as it is on many who occupy the more mainline religious traditions. Just because I'd much rather listen to U2 than to Petra doesn't mean I don't appreciate what Petra is trying to do with their music and their ministry. It is the nature of a reviewer to be opinionated, but some readers of a more conservative bent might get a little irritated at how the author continually wears his theological biases on his sleeve.

The bottom line is this: this is a must-own for Christian music fans, as one could lose him/herself in this massive book for days on end. On it's comprehensiveness alone it deserves 5+ stars, but I have to dock it a star because much of the tone toward artists that don't happen to share the author's theological orientation is needlessly perjorative.

Believe it or not, it isn't necessary to spew adjectives to give an honest critique of this work. The book is almost exhaustive (not quite) and includes a number of unexpected names. The volume of information is tediously fascinating - something that would appeal to anyone seeking such a book. That is the great strength of the work, Powell obviously went to great lengths to collect and present an encyclopedia's worth of information on a topic with narrow appeal.

It is surprising, however, that there isn't more negative feedback (among other reviewers) regarding Powell's inclusion of personal opinion along with the facts. In that sense, this isn't an encyclopedia at all, but a series of artist reviews with an inordinate amount of fact and trivia included.

No matter what the reader's theological persuasion, it soon becomes irritating to see, time and again, Powell chide musicians for taking a particular theological stance with which he disagrees. Dismissive at times, and occasionally insulting, Powell tarnishes his own wonderful work by castigating those who do not fall in line with his theology. His strong theological opinion is not completely surprising, since Powell is a Theologian, but it is unwarranted and unwanted in such a work. It begs the question - what might this encyclopedia have been like if the labor had been shared and a team of writers had combined their effort?

The trivial minutia keeps me interested, but the repeated intrusion of castigating annotations forces me to skip sections until I get past them and return to the nuts and bolts. I certainly have no regrets that I purchased this book, but unfortunately it isn't the masterwork it could have been and will remain a good first effort. If we are fortunate it will be followed by better works to come.

When I heard this book was out, I "had" to get it. I was born again in 1974, during the Jesus Movement days and when "Jesus Music," the contemporary Christian music (CCM) of the day, was new. I fell in love with the music and with what it and the artists represented, their new lives in Jesus Christ, and their fervor to communicate their new lives to anyone who would listen, usually to other young people who would likely never set foot inside a church building. Those young persons who would not go to a church service would be more likely to attend a rock concert. The music was the vehicle for the message.

I first read about my favorite artists of the times, including such notables as Love Song, The Way, Larry Norman and others. I found the work to be inspirational and fun reading. I also found it encouraging, as I again read about the great impact this kind of music had on many lives. I had issue with some aspects of this book, like the author's liberal use of the word, "stupid" in reference to songs and song themes, for example, and some aspects of his theology. He nevertheless accomplished what he set out to do, and that is to compile an impressive work chronicling CCM up to 2001. Nothing is glossed over; the subject and its performers are discussed, "warts and all."

With a work this large (over 1000 pages), details are bound to be missed or misstated. The author welcomes all additions, criticisms, and corrections, and I submitted one recently. He replied, and said he would include this in his next revision.

All disagreements aside, I have found this work to be useful and simply fun to read and an important work of church history. Overall, well done!

Just the fact that this book now exists is cause for celebration. I'm sure many have thought "Someone needs to write a guide to Christian Music" through the years, but having the time and the means to do so was another thing. Well, those of us who have spent hours and hours reading and referring to the Rolling Stone Record Guide, The Music Hound Essential Rock Album Guide, The Mojo Collection or any other "guide" books now have a Christian equilivant. And man, is it quite a read!

Over 1,000 pages and more than 1,000 artists/groups covered. I just got my copy a few days ago, so I've only had the chance to skim through it, but I'm looking forward to getting more in-depth in the coming weeks (months?).

My first impressions are that this is a really well researched and written book. Like previous reviewers, I found that the author's biases are pretty obvious, but not unexpected in an undertaking of this size. A quick glance found several factual mistakes - crediting the wrong David Huff on the Disco Saints releases (it was session guitarist extrodinare and Giant member Huff who headed this up, not the guy from David and the Giants), placing keyboardist Tony Banks in Yes instead of Genesis, referring to Koinonia's Abe Laboriel as a guitarist instead of the incredible bassist he is (even though he's listed as the bassist in the Koinonia group description) to name a few that popped up on first read through. There were also some artists and releases omitted which caught me by surprise - rappers BPM, techno greats Paradigim Shift, early alternative rockers Black and White World and (Christian) blues pioneers Q-Stone, as well as the afore mentioned Koiniona's 1992 self-titled release on Blue Moon. Again, some mistakes and omissions are bound to come along when this much information is being dissiminated.

Enough nit-picking, though. This book is truly a Godsend for anyone who cares about Christian music. The scope of the research that was done is incredible to think about. In the end, it's a captivating read and will prove to be an invaluable resource. Thank you Professor Powell for taking on such a project and seeing it to fruition!

Now, if there were only someone out there brave enough to review and rate the albums referred to in this book, using stars or numbered ratings (like the Rolling Stone guides). As far as I know, nothing like that for Christian music has ever existed. Any takers?

I am having such a wonderful time catching up with "old friends". I say "having" because it would take almost the whole 7 years Dr. Powell spent writing the book, to actually read it from cover to cover. It is full of anecdotes, information, backgrounds and the trivia that connected all of us who worked so hard to make music that told our generation about Jesus. While we are covered "warts and all", as one reviewer has said, the author was careful to check out facts and only publish information that was already public knowledge - there is no dirt-digging, backbiting or tabloid aspect to the reviews. Reading it on the CD-ROM is especially nice since every mention of reviewed artists is highlighted and linked to their portions, and all artists with current websites are linked to their parts of the book, so jumping around within genres or groups is quick and easy. I'll be interested in how it goes for the publisher to have provided the CD-ROM with the book, since its inclusion no doubt has made the "used" copies so easily available. Thanks for all your work, your humor and your tender spirit, Dr. Powell.

This book is an absolute treasure-an incredible achievement! Over 1900 entries containing everything that anyone could ever want to know about any artist even remotely connected with Christian music. There are full, lengthy entries on all of the big name Christian stars (Steven Curtis Chapman, DC Talk, Amy Grant, etc.). There are also appropriate listings of mainstream artists whose recordings have sometimes dealt explicitly with matters of faith (Creed, U2, and lots of different country and R&B stars). There are reminiscences and updates on long-forgotten Christian artists from years ago-including those who only made a single album and then disappeared. And, best of all, there are major articles on the critics' favorites-edgy artists who don't get a lot of attention in the official Christian music scene but who have made some of the best music the field has to offer.

If you're a Christian music fan-this is the book you've been waiting for! If you're skeptical about the whole Christian rock thing-well, then, this book is really for you! The author realizes that there are vast differences in quality and style-he knows that many of his readers will only like a smattering of what he includes. He doesn't try to sell the music, but he helps you find which of the artists will be most to your liking. He also has an uproarious sense of humor that makes reading the book a delight. He obviously loves the music but he doesn't take it too seriously. He is witty, provocative, and never, ever forgets that rock and roll (even Christian rock and roll) is supposed to be fun!

This book is a treasure chest of information about major and minor musicians in "contemporary Christian music." The author also includes "cross-over" artists, such as Sixpence None the Richer, and mainstream artists who often explores spiritual themes in their music, such as U-2.
If you've ever listened to any of this music, you'll enjoy reading this; I started flipping through, intending to just check out a few groups I liked, and I ended up completely engrossed for hours!
The author does throw in his two cents about various artists, but I thought his opinions were a hoot!