Ethiopia - 'Aqwaqwam (Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church - Music And Dance Of Heaven) - Various Artists

Advantages: Great guitars, honest and powerful lyrics
Disadvantages: Depends whether you like the genre

...Martyn Joseph - Martyn Joseph Just before Christmas, we went to see Martyn Joseph at Haren Church, near Brussels airport. I don't not what surprised me more, that a Welsh singer-songwriter should turn up at a small venue in cold, dark Flanders or that this was the fifth successive year he had been there. We had seen him once before, back at Spring Harvest in Minehead in 1996, and had a couple of his albums. One of these, the eponymously entitled Martyn Joseph is the subject of this review. = MARTYN JOSEPH - WHO IS HE? = Martyn Joseph was born in Penarth in 1960, and came to prominence in the 1980s, primarily among Christian circles. As he said in his self-deprecating manner at the concert, he was originally classified as a rock and pop artist, then this changed to folk, and most recently, a new category has been found... Read review

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Advantages: One of the top songs of the year
Disadvantages: Only one from an excellent album released in the charts by this awesome group

...Sixpence none the richer's super hit "kiss me" is one of those rare songs which occasionally come along, and just stick in your mind. So where did this group suddenly spring from? I have been following them for a while now, and their roots are quite interesting. They have released a number of albums, and as far as I understand singles aswell. So why didn't we hear about them? Simple - they were all released into the Christian charts in America. They are actually a Christian group, which write many songs, many of which I have heard played in churches. This is one of the rare occasions whereby a Christian artist released a single into the "normal" charts - and it achieved amazing success. Just goes to show that church music has come a long way from "onward Christian Soldier," and such... An excellent allround song, with a fresh... Read review

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Advantages: Fabulous lyrics, moving, not overly sentimental
Disadvantages: Noe really

...on Thanksgiving Day by getting up on to a stool and playing the piano. Growing up, he pursued his music, and is well known in Nashville as a session musician and concert pianist, playing with many of the big names on the music scene there, such as Porter Wagoner and Bill Gaither, with whom he is performing in Belfast and Glasgow in early March 2008. He has been nominated for Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year by the Academy of Country Music for three straight years, and most recently has been nominated for various Gospel music awards. (A longer biography can be found at http://www.gaither.com/artists/?v=bi&a=98.) The one thing that is unmistakeable about Gordon Mote however is his Christian faith that shines through all his music, which is why he was on the Michael Card show. There is a complete absence of self-pity, and instead you get... Read review

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