"Oh God. What have we done"

At the beginning of 2001 I was deep in nurdy conversation with my mate Martin Green. He was responsible for that Sound Gallery compilation years ago that you still hear on the Chris Tarrant show every now and again.

We were saying how bored we were with compilations, bootlegs and the general lack of anything really different available to the record buying madman.

Together we hatched a plan, and 'Resurrection' is the result. We have issued it on the all new, all clean and lovely Second Coming label. It's a cool compilation of religious recordings, and before you put on your doubting Thomas hat, remember we have good taste and interesting musical experience.

There is something for all believers on this compilation, and we think the cover is pretty cute too.

And within these sacred gooves you will hear super cool swinging versions of popular hymns, by artists as important as Tubby Hayes. There is almost no doubt that his version of 'He Who Would Valiant Be' will be a hip hop sample over the next couple of months. And his cover of 'Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken' has a sitar breakdown.

Also, you can hear Pat Boone, that odd christian man who wears a lot of leather now, rapping the 13 psalm over evil drums.

You will melt when you hear the heavenly folk of Judy Mackenzie - who to this day still sings in church on Sundays in South Croydon.

John Ylvisaker is a firm favourite already on the LP, his wild take of the Baptist original 'Wade in the Water' is made even cooler when you hear that Dick Hyman plays keyboards. And his version of A Gay Cliche contains way out phrases including 'Rubber Crutch'. He is a truly amazing guy, and incidentally is still touring the states and controls a catalogue of some 1000 plus self penned masterpieces - so there.

Pete Levin and Bill Commeau were an inventive pair of New Yorkers we also discovered. They got together for a musical ding-a-ling with Christ in '69 and 'Some Beautiful Day' just blew us away. Very avant garde, like beat poetry jazz stuff. These are truly underground recordings, they are exceptionally rare and superb - you will never hear these sounds anywhere else.

Oh, and there's all this garage punky stuff too, which rocks and twists and questions like any good Christian song is entitled too. 'The Torchbearers' are the band and their LP 'The Holy Ghost Reception Committee Number 9' is an awesome psychy beast. And you may just love 'Jesus H. Clown' which they performed in 1968. Incidentally, the original LP which fetches hundreds of bucks now was originally paid for by the Church of St Paul the Apostle in New York.

Oh, and I must not forget to mention Johnny Pearson's tasty jazz version of Cantate Domino. And if you don't know who Johnny Pearson is, he wrote all the music for Mary, Mungo and Midge. The track we've used was penned when he was going through a brief flirtation with Him Upstairs in about 1968.

We think this compilation is cool. And most entertaining. And it makes a lovely change from all those funky compilations that all sound the same. You never know, it may bring you closer to the Lord, or Trunk.

So rejoice!! And buy one in the shops or from here.

Heavy vinyl - a sacrifice of just £10 (hurry, they are limited) CD - a small sacrifice of only £12 Otherwise, if you wanted to hear this groovy music it would take you years to find all the originals and cost you an arm and a leg.