Daystar DS 1001 (1975) Arizona was the birthplace of God Unlimited, probably the best college-based group of the "Jesus Music" era (although this group did the same kind of ministry). Â God Unlimited was an Episcopal group; this Arizona gathering was Roman Catholic, connected with the Spiritual Life Institute and Fr. William McNamara. This is a …
Frances Mary Hunter Gordon: The Woldingham Folk Mass
(1968) It didn't take long after Vatican II for new forms of the Mass to emerge. This not only included the Novus Ordo Missae in 1970 (which is still in place, albeit with the Latinate English translation now in force) but also with new music. On this side of the Atlantic, we had Peter Scholtes …
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Les compagnons de Paul: Jésus va revenir est-tu prêt?
(KO 091113) 1973? The best way to describe this album's style is "eclectic." But that's not in a contemporary sense--even for the time it came out--but in a traditional sense. "The Companions of Paul" (the group's name in English) draw from a variety of folk styles, including French folk music (an ancestor of zydeco), bluegrass …
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Groupe Naissance: Entre tes mains
(Jef 335.111) 1974? A very nice French Christian folk album. To my mind it isn't quite up to this (from the same label, though), but it isn't bad either. Les Chalands Vivre Ave Toi Comme une Terre Desséchée Amitié Langueur La Feuille Morte Oh! Oh! Seigneur Ce N’est Pas Étrange Quand J’ai vu les Mains …
Pauline Mills: Pauline Sings
Century 35625 (1963?) One of the frustrating things about our culture is that everyone "markets" what they do as brand new. That includes Christian music. Music leaders, composers, and publishers would like to think that the move away from "traditional" Christian hymnody (and they usually fail to define "traditional") is all recent and the music …
Agapè – Le Troisième Seuil (The Third Level)
Agapè AG-2001 (1972) The styles of the "Jesus Music" era varied from group to group, reflecting the popular music of the era. The concept was that the music "become all things to all men, so as at all costs to save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22 TCNT) The old rockers celebrated then (and still do now) …
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Rising Hope: Farewell to the Shadowlands and Where the Songs Come From
This Cincinnati, OH, based group put out two very nice folk-rock albums. There is a mixture of original compositions and covers, some of which (well, one of which) you wouldn't expect on a non-Catholic album. The group does well in different styles and these albums are very good as a result. More information about the …
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Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire: Ian Mitchell Was Replaced by Jon Bruno
It's always interesting to follow the various artists that grace this blog. One of them, Ian Mitchell of American Folk Mass fame, was featured a little while ago when I discovered that the L.A. Times reported on Halloween 1985 that he had been given the boot at St. Athanasius Episcopal Church. That took place because …
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Sylvia Dunlap: Someone Like Me
Oblate OBLP 1001 (1981) Followers of this blog know that, if an album combines "Texas" and "Catholic," I'm generally interested. This album, which is a little later than most of the albums on this site, goes against the grain of where Christian music was going in the early 1980's (and that's also somewhat true of …
St. Pius X Seminary Choir: Each One Heard In His Own Language About The Marvels Of God
Century 30441 1968 One of those early, pre-NOM works, it was led by Rev. Nicholas Freund. The best way to describe this album is "eclectic." It has some of the "space age" effects of Leo Nestor's Sons of the Morning, but doesn't venture into the refined realms of that work. It explores the combination of …
Positive Infinity 