Reviewed by Jeremy Williams

The biggest songs from White Heart's distinguished career, all on one album. Again. This isn't the first 'best of' collection from White Heart. By my calculation there have been at least five, and because of the various copyrights and release dates, every one of them is different. With that in mind, the sixth feels more like it's exploiting than honouring the legacy of the Christian rockers. But let's take it at face value. 'The Very Best Of White Heart' draws from the 1986 -1993 high point of the band's 15 year career, so no songs from the first three or last two albums. Instead you've got 12 prime cuts of the band at their arena filling finest, big hair and big solos included. And truth be told, the mighty riffs of "Powerhouse" and "Bye Bye Babylon" are still great slabs of classic '80s rock and "Desert Rose" remains a magnificent lighters-in-the-air ballad. The big echoey drums and keyboard reverb aren't likely to find a new audience now, and fans may spot a couple of notable absences (no "River Will Flow" or "Let The Kingdom Come", and definitely no "Little Drummer Boy"), but Christian rock is still indebted to pioneers such as White Heart, and this is a timely reminder of the early years of what is now a major industry.

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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