Iona

There are a few Christian singers/musicians and groups that are worth hearing. Not many. Some are fantastic because they are amazing musicians. Phil Keaggy is one of them. I first heard Phil back when we were both young, 1972 at Ohio Wesleyan University. Besides writing great lyrics Phil Keaggy may be the best guitarist in the world. He can do things with a guitar that are just amazing. Listen to this one:




But I’m not here to talk about Phil Keaggy. Iona is the most amazing Christian/Celitic/Rock/Jazz/Fusion groups. Yep, they are all that and more. Who else has bagpipes and saxophones playing at the same time. Iona plays music that ranges from New Age sounding stuff, through Irish reels and old hymns to the most amazing rock and jazz. And on top of that they have mature theology too. Listen to this song about Jesus:



Great theology,I think, putting colors to the various acts of the second person of the Trinity with a wailing sax. And this is from Jesus’ comment “Where your treasure is:”



Too much contemporary Christian music sounds like the early Beatles: "Jesus I wanna hold your hand" but worse. Iona not only has great music they put theology into the music as well as the words. And if you want to hear about the beauty of the universe as well as Galileo, you can.



And an instrumental:



Mature Christian music. They may not be Johann Sebastian (but who is) but they are themselves and they sing and play the Good News better than almost anyone.