Reviewed by Tony Cummings

It has to be said that books documenting Christian music are extremely thin on the ground. So on that level at least one should welcome this nicely designed volume put together by the staff of Nashville's CCM magazine. But on just about every other level this is woeful. The biggest problem is the title. To call a book Greatest Songs In Christian Music but ignore the vast majority of African American gospel performers is crass. But I suppose 100 Greatest Songs Originating From The Largely White CCM Industry wouldn't have quite the same impact. And though there are some undeniable classics documented here ("El Shaddai", "I Wish We'd All Been Ready", "Shout To The Lord", "Flood", "I Can Only Imagine") there are also lightweight songs form David Meece, Chris Rice, Sandi Patti and Evie which shouldn't have been on anybody's list. There are one or two Jesus music songs which are the nearest this shallow survey gets to history but most of the write-ups convey precious little information about the songwriters or the singers and are often written in the stilted gush of the press release. Even as a Christmas present for a hardcore CCM fan, this is definitely not recommended.

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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