The Passion Of The Christ Songs

By Rene Williams

Various Artists
Lost Keyword Records

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ was one of the most powerful and thought-provoking films of this era. Millions flocked to theatres earlier this year to see first-hand the story of the last few hours of Christ’s life. The film, which has already made $370 million (and took only $30 million to make), just set another record with its recent DVD release. The DVD sold 4.1 million copies in the space of 24 hours ranking it among the top-selling DVDs of all time. A musical compliment to the film has recently hit music store shelves called The Passion Of The Christ Songs: Original Songs Inspired By The Film. The project is a compilation including artists from the mainstream and Christian genres.

The project opens with a song from some of Contemporary Christian music’s best artists. Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day and MercyMe chime in the rock-edged song I See Love. The track was co-written by Chapman, Third Day member Mac Powell and MercyMe member Bart Millard. Steven Curtis Chapman is undoubtedly one of Christian music’s most prolific writers and popular artists. He’s won over 40 Dove Awards and has had a string of hits too numerous to name. Also, Third Day is a favorite as well. With their folk and Southern rock style of worship, the Atlanta band, who are Dove and Grammy Award winners, play to sold-out venues throughout the country. MercyMe gained fame with their crossover hit, I Can Only Imagine which helped to catapult the album Almost There to the #1 spot on the Christian Album Chart for 2001. The combined efforts of these phenomenal acts produce a great song. Scott Stapp, the former lead singer of Creed, known for their hit With Arms Wide Open, provides his stirring vocals on the acoustic guitar-driven, Relearn Love.

Mainstream Christian rockers P.O.D. (although not considered a Christian band) provide Truly Amazing. Propelled from obscurity by the album Fundamentals of Southtown, the group has used Latin, reggae and hip-hop influences in their music. Multi-platinum Country Music Association winners Brad Paisley and Sara Evans team up as writers and singers on the melodic and country-flavored song New Again, a song about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Big Dismal, Wind-Up Records new Christian rock artists, contributes the pop tinged Rainy Day. Hip-hop star Lauryn Hill makes an appearance on this compilation as well. She provides the beat-driven, eclectic track The Passion.

Gospel artists Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams share the mic on the inspiring track How Many Lashes. The mellow, soul-sounding song includes rap confessions from Franklin and background vocals from Adams. The theme of the song centers around how many lashes Christ had to take for our sins. The track is a smooth one. Punk-rockers MxPx and Blink 182 team up for the track The Empire. The Christian band MxPx hails from Bremerton, Washington, and shortly after their signing with Tooth & Nail Records became the label’s best-selling artist. Blink 182 gained notoriety with their 4-times platinum CD Enema of the State. Classical starlet Charlotte Church sings her way onto this disc with the cut Finding My Own Way. Soul sensation Angie Stone and gospel favorite BeBe Winans collaborate on the churchy Miracle of Love. Producer, songwriter and former member of the band Tonic, Dan Lavery sings the pop tune To Give Love. Big Dismal closes out this CD with reflective The Reason I Live.

These songs are truly breathed directly from the artists singing these songs as each song is written by a least one of the artists performing. The Passion Of The Christ Songs: Original Songs Inspired By The Film is a fine collection with great performances from gospel, CCM and mainstream’s most popular artists. This is certainly one to pick up.

Feedback - Rene Williams is a freelance writer for Gospelcity.com, GTM Magazine and Charisma Magazine. She also is the author of the Gospel News Update, a bi-weekly e-zine about what's happening in the Christian music industry, and the D.C. Gospel News Update, a weekly newsletter about gospel events in the Washington, D.C. area.