Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The phrase "Jesus music" tends to describe an era (from 1965 to 1980) rather than a particular style of music and indicates how the church gradually emerged from its self-imposed cultural cocoon to embrace more and more of the styles of pop and rock that were prevalent in those years. Jesus music takes in everything including country rock, jazz funk, pop balladry, beat groups, heavy metal and much more. But by far the greatest number of albums listed in Ken Scott's definitive tome on the subject, Archivist, are acoustic singer/songwriters inspired by the folk revival of the '60s. Brian Steele was one of the hundreds of American Christian songsmiths who took the courageous step of recording an independent album of his, and others, songs and decades on has made this 1979 album available as a CD. If you're a fan of Noel Paul Stookey or even early Michael Card you'll find much on 'Nobody Knows' which will please your musical palate. In fact there's even a cover of Stookey's "Hymn" which I would suggest is as good as the original while Steele's own compositions "Love's Road", "Thank You" and the quite beautiful ballad "Wedding Gift" all work well for the smooth-voiced singer/guitarist. Maybe the piano-led closer, a gentle rendition of the ancient spiritual "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen" is a little underwhelming, but give Brian a good song like the minor key country rocker "I've Got The Joy You're Looking For" or his rendition of the hymnal favourite "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood" with an early American melody and the effect is warmly engaging.

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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