Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music [Paperback]

It is surprising, however, that there isn't more negative feedback (among other reviewers) regarding Powell's inclusion of personal opinion along with the facts. In that sense, this isn't an encyclopedia at all, but a series of artist reviews with an inordinate amount of fact and trivia included.

No matter what the reader's theological persuasion, it soon becomes irritating to see, time and again, Powell chide musicians for taking a particular theological stance with which he disagrees. Dismissive at times, and occasionally insulting, Powell tarnishes his own wonderful work by castigating those who do not fall in line with his theology. His strong theological opinion is not completely surprising, since Powell is a Theologian, but it is unwarranted and unwanted in such a work. It begs the question - what might this encyclopedia have been like if the labor had been shared and a team of writers had combined their effort?

The trivial minutia keeps me interested, but the repeated intrusion of castigating annotations forces me to skip sections until I get past them and return to the nuts and bolts. I certainly have no regrets that I purchased this book, but unfortunately it isn't the masterwork it could have been and will remain a good first effort. If we are fortunate it will be followed by better works to come.

Mark Allan Powell is a world-famous theologian and also a professional rock critic who has worked in the secular field for over 30 years. With this book, for the first time in history, Christian rock is being taken seriously within wider parameters of both religion and culture. He didn't need to do this, and I guess he's not getting anything for it (donating royalties) but he offers it to church and society as "a gift-and as a tribute to some people (the artists) who have made (his) life more meaningful and enjoyable."

What's most important is that the book is a critical resource, not just a collection of press releases. Powell provides all the necessary info about every artist and then also summarizes major reviews of their work that have appeared in the Christian media (gripes from some reviewers about Powell being too "opinionated" fail to notice that 98% of the "opinions" are those of other critics, which he merely reports). Such attention to critical reception is absolutely essential for Christian music ever being taken seriously outside of its own little fan club.

Powell obviously loves this music and strives to put a positive spin on every artist, even those who have been trashed by other critics. Still, he is more interested in promoting Christ than any particular singer or band, much less himself or his own ideas. ....

The book is a simply incredible achievement that will be deeply appreciated by all but the most small-minded.

That said, it would be passing strange if one of the world's top theologians wrote a book about Christian music and didn't offer any commentary on the theological perspectives of the various artists. These occasional comments (helpful to pastors and church leaders) led one reviewer here to claim the work is "theologically biased," but actually, Powell's own views (he's a self-described "conservative evangelical pietist") are rarely in evidence-he just occasionally identifies trajectories in the works of some artists that might be offensive to some people (not necessarily to him). Bottom line: Powell is certainly not "perjorative" against those who don't share his theological orientation; rather he is mildly critical of all perspectives (including his own) when they display insensitivity to the concerns of others.

But 99% of the book's readers won't care about any of that anyway-and 99% of the time Powell wisely eschews any attention to internal arguments about Christian theology and just gives us the rock and roll. If you like rock and roll (i.e., if you enjoy it), you'll love this book.