#4 The Edge

A bit early for the benefit of board members, here's number 4. Ooh it's becoming a struggle! The things I have to leave out or push onto the hypothetical album list!

Anyway...I used to have a very poor view of Christian music, for two reasons: in the late 80s a lot of Christian music available in the UK was poor. Newly converted, for me the thought of a smiling Christian wearing a guitar on a rainbow strap was fearful - give me proper secular stuff. The second reason grew out of the first: the almost subconscious conclusion that all Christian music was tame or bad or cheesy or basically pants. And this is the real problem, because I found that actually there are really decent, professional, talented Christian musicians - but a lot of people cease judging the music on its merits and write it off because of it's religious atmosphere, afraid of being associated with it. More fool them.

With some symmetry, there were also two things that changed my view. The first was Michael Card - a theologian-poet who did not fill albums with "Jesus we love you, yes we do, we really do, honest etc etc" and his tunes were good too (not much oomph - that came with the second thing, in 1995, and the album that probably changed Christian music forever).

So, he's not big on energy, but also no cheese, no lack of musical ability, no soppy lyrics. Instead: depth, meaning, warmth, reality. Of several songs I could choose, the one I would hold on to (especially on a desert island) is The Edge (1994). It sounds good, but takes suicide as its theme, yet in the most hopeful way: it's the song of someone who came close to the edge but has seen it as a lie - reality is God, His promises and a better persepective than times of darkness permit. It's a good song for any dark time, when we start to feel failure is inevitable, and need to realse God wants us to fight...

I promise I will always leave
The darkness for the light.
I swear by all that's holy
I will not give up the fight.
I'll drink down death like water
Before I ever come again
To that dark place where I might make
The choice for life to end.