I'm currently reading Charlie Peacock's new book, an autobiography of sorts. So I've also been interested in the music from his 45 years or so making music and collaborating with so many other musicians. This is his second major-label record, and it's '80s pop that includes elements of jazz, funk, and more. His lyrics contain somewhat religious language, but they're not preachy and speak to his personal experiences as a man struggling with understanding his faith. It definitely sounds very dated as many albums from the '80s do, but it's good songwriting and quality production. I think my favorites were songs I was already familiar with, "Down In The Lowlands" and "Lie Down In The Grass", but the whole album is a good listen. More recently, Charlie Peacock wrote hits for Amy Grant and helped start careers of bands like Switchfoot, The Civil Wars, and many more, as well as he continues to record new jazz piano and pop albums.

Release Year: 1986
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Buy Charlie's new book, Roots & Rhythm: A Life In Music

Released on this day 29 years ago, this is my favorite album from the Newsboys, a Christian band that has been active for about 40 years and gone through many band members. This mid-'90s release is their best of their career, in my opinion. They were still only a few years into moving from Australia to the U.S.A., and partnered with the rock songwriter and producer Steve Taylor to help them out with the lyrics. Take Me To Your Leader is a great collection of pop/rock tracks that still holds up really well compared to many Christian albums from the era. "Take Me To Your Leader", "Breathe" and "Breakfast" were some of the most popular songs with Christian music fans at the time, but the whole album is full of solid lyrics and musicianship like "Cup O' Tea" and the epic "Lost The Plot". It's one of the best Christian music albums of the '90s, I think.

Release Year: 1996
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Ginny Owens has been making music for about 30 years now, and this EP was from her earlier years of making music. After making two full-length pop albums, she put out this EP with more live, blues-y renditions of the songs from her first few albums. Her voice and piano work fits with the upright bass and the strings, and it's fun to get a different version of her music. Her songwriting's beauty shines through these arrangements and show that she's not just successful due to her slick production. Produced by fellow female singer-songwriter Margaret Becker, this is a great collection of early Ginny Owens songs. Ginny is still making music and also doing other things decades later.

Release Year: 2002
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David Crowder is my kind of guy. He's a fan of all types of music, and his albums reflect that. He's been making much for about 30 years now, I think, and still keeps making music that I enjoy a lot, whether in his earlier years with his David Crowder Band, or these days with his band just called Crowder. American Prodigal is Crowder's second studio album, and this band has a bit more country/bluegrass than his earlier band, though at its core, the music is pop music with a modern worship bent. A few songs feature guest verses from rappers and the deluxe version includes a remix track by BT at the end, so Crowder definitely mixes the genres. It's an energetic fusion of Gospel lyrics and modern pop/rock sensibilities, and it's a fun musical celebration of God's love and grace.

Release Year: 2016
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