Description
Rock On: Christian Vintage, sub-titled 16 Songs That Shaped a Generation, is a multi-artist rock compilation released on Madacy Christian Music/Sony Music Entertainment in 2003, manufactured by Sony Music Custom Marketing Group, marketed and distributed by Madacy Christian Music Group.
This is one of five installments in the Rock On series released by the Canadian label Madacy Entertainment Group. The others were: a 2CD entitled Rock On: Christian (30 of the Best Songs in Christian Rock. Featuring 25 No. 1 Singles); a 2CD entitled Rock On: Contemporary Christian (22 Songs 17 No. 1 Hits); a 2CD entitled Rock On: Christian Loud (30 #1 Christian Hard Rock Hits); as well as a CD entitled Rock On: Worship (15 of The Greatest Modern Worship Songs Including 10 #1 Hits).
I can’t believe how good this album is. Why do I call it an “album” and not a CD? “Album” was the word used to describe LPs (long-play) records as opposed to 45 singles when vinyl was still the recording medium of choice. All of the songs in this collection originally appeared on vinyl, and as a result, most of them are very difficult to find today. Many of the bands on this CD had singles on Billboard’s Top 40 charts, and so were well-known in the day. This CD collects 16 songs by artists that not only are significant historically, but are also great songs in their own right. Starting with the Doobie Bros’ version of the Byrds’ hit, «Jesus is Just Alright», (the Byrds’ version is on the soundtrack of Easy Rider), Mr. Mister’s «Kyrie», one of their most popular songs; «Nothing’s Free» from Alice Cooper’s rock opera, The Last Temptation (originally accompanied by a graphic novel from Marvel Comics); two songs from Kerry Livgren of Kansas; my favorite Stryper song (what are the odds of that?); «Laser Love» from After the Fire, known for their single «Der Kommissar»; «The Walls Came Down» by the Call, from their early album Modern Romans, and which ran as a video on MTV; Pacific Gas and Electric’s charting hit, «Are You Ready», «God Gave Rock’n’Roll to You» by Argent, later covered on three albums by Petra and sung by Kiss on the soundtrack of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey; a song by two members of Little River Band, and «I Love You», by People, their charting single of a Zombies’ song. Larry Norman was in People at this time, and you can hear his distinctive falsetto on the single.
A truly amazing collection that for some listeners will bring back memories of long forgotten songs. Others will be blown away to find that there ever was music like this and that these songs were ever on the radio, and (you know the next part) may be fired up to track down more music from these artists. To me that’s all good, and I hope labels will be inspired to bring a lot more old vinyl out on CD. The name “Christian Vintage” is however a misnomer. Many of these artists would have never worn that tag, and would have said they were searchers and seekers, not “finders.” Personally I think all music like this should be called “gospel rock.” The word “gospel” says something about a song but not the person singing it – anyone could sing a gospel song – unlike “Christian,” which refers to a way of life, some church affiliation, or a set of beliefs. Because of niche marketing and search engines, albums like this end up labeled like this, which misleadingly pigeonholes the artists. But get past the packaging and you may discover some wonderful surprises on this great collection. [Gord Wilson]
CD tracklist:
01. The Dobbie Brothers – Jesus Is Just Alright – 4:33
02. Mr. Mister – Kyrie – 4:12
03. Alice Cooper – Nothing’s Free – 5:01
04. Kerry Livgren / AD – Slow Motion Suicide – 4:46
05. Stryper – Always There for You – 4:06
06. After the Fire – Laser Love – 3:28
07. The Call – The Walls Came Down – 3:44
08. Pacific Gas & Electric – Are You Ready? – 5:49
09. Lake – Jesus Came Down – 3:43
10. Kerry Livgren – To Live for the King – 4:55
11. Grand Funk Railroad – I Can Feel Him in the Morning – 5:15
12. Birtles and Goble – He Gives Us All His Love – 4:56
13. Peope feat. Larry Norman – I Love You – 4:33
14. David and the Giants – One Less Stone – 4:00
15. Argent – God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You – 4:00
16. Roy Buchanan – The Messiah Will Come Again – 4:11
