Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

JFH Music Review


Various Artists
Guitar Praise HITS Volume One



Album length: 11 tracks: 39 minutes, 32 seconds
Street Date: June 8, 2010


In 2005, Sony's PlayStation 2 revolutionized gaming with the release of the music game Guitar Hero, which came packaged with a guitar-shaped controller. The game became mega popular, and its tracklist contained mainstream rock hits anywhere from Black Sabbath and Deep Purple to Queens of the Stone Age and Sum-41. One of Guitar Hero's creators eventually moved on to create the game's equally-as-successful rival, Rock Band. Guitar Hero kept using mainstream songs, as did Rock Band, though in recent memory, the Rock Band franchise has featured downloadable Christian songs from artists like Switchfoot, Underoath, Family Force 5 and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Both franchises are now available for Nintendo, XBox and PlayStation.

But there's also another competitor (for lack of a better term) that uses ONLY Christian songs. Digital Praise's version is not available on any game system, but rather, you can only play it by installing the software onto your computer. It's called Guitar Praise... yep, a Christian version of Guitar Hero, for those who want to play the game but don't listen to mainstream music. And now, a couple years later, EMI is releasing a compilation featuring eleven of the top songs from Guitar Praise. It's Guitar Praise Hits, Vol. 1.

There are two ways to look at this compilation. The first would be as a collection of some top Christian radio hits. After all, it does have some good tracks from David Crowder*Band, Thousand Foot Krutch, Spoken and even the classic "Jesus Freak" from dcTalk. However, it's not being marketed as such, which is good because it only has a few shining moments, not to mention the redundancy of the tracklist. Guitar Praise Hits IS being marketed as a soundtrack. And what's sad about this particular soundtrack is that it just won't entice people to play the game. If I listened to this soundtrack without any prior knowledge of it being a soundtrack, then I was told that these were the top songs from Guitar Praise, I would immediately dismiss the game. Playing a Guitar Hero-style game with Christian music is cool and all (as it seems that, despite the few instances with Rock Band, we may never get to play our favorite CCM rock songs anywhere else), but playing it to Chris Tomlin? Superchick? Newsboys? No disrespect to those artists, but their respective songs are poorly-chosen for a game like that, which subsequently makes them poorly-chosen for the game's soundtrack.

What makes Guitar Hero fun is not necessarily the iconic song selections like "Smoke on the Water" and "My Name Is Jonas," but it's the skill of the actual guitar playing that demands skill from the gamer. If Guitar Praise (or the newer game Jam Band) makes a sequel, maybe they could use "XOXOXO" by Secret & Whisper or "The Spy Hunter" by Project 86. Maybe something from House of Heroes or The Showdown. Some other Christian artists who have crafted songs that have good guitars. That would make for a soundtrack worth listening to, and a game worth playing. Again, if looked at as just a compilation of songs, Guitar Praise Hits, Vol. 1 would be an alright compilation, despite being mostly overly-recycled Christian radio hits, the highlights of which I could get on iTunes and still have the majority of a $15 iTunes card left. But as it's marketed (as a soundtrack), it's an eleven-song waste of money.

- Review date: 5/27/10, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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. Record Label: Star Song / Digital Praise
. Album length: 11 tracks: 39 minutes, 32 seconds
. Street Date: June 8, 2010
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Made To Worship - Chris Tomlin (4:17)
  2. Foreverandever Etc. - David Crowder*Band (3:22)
  3. I'm For You - Tobymac (3:46)
  4. Tonight - Jeremy Camp (3:03)
  5. Friend Like That - Hawk Nelson (2:48)
  6. Hearts Of The Innocent - Kutless (3:36)
  7. The Art Of Breaking - Thousand Foot Krutch (3:19)
  8. Falling Further - Spoken (3:33)
  9. Jesus Freak - DC Talk (4:49)
  10. We Live - Superchick (3:08)
  11. Something Beautiful - Newsboys (3:51)

 

 

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This Friday, September 5, 2025
ALBUMS
A Life Aligned The Light That Failed To Cease (independent)
Philip Anthony A League of My Own (ALOMO) - EP (independent)
Josh Baldwin Full Grown Man, Vol. 1 - EP [Bethel]
bodie NO SKIPS [Provident]
Colony House 77 (Pt. 1) [Roon]
Coqui LIVING 2 DIE - EP [DREAM]
The Gray Havens This Is Not the End (independent)
Forrest Frank CHILD OF GOD II (BACK TO BACK) DELUXE [River House]

SINGLES
Bill B. GOD KNOW ft. TrigNO - Single [Syntax]
Mark Bishop I'm Gonna Do What I Said I'd Do - Single [Sonlite]
Brave Days Friendly Fire - Single (independent)
CalledOut Music Adore You - Single [Integrity]
Michael Carder Where Do I Go From Here - Single (independent)
Charis Music Pressing Through (feat. Hailey Trevino) - Single [NWN]
Darius Mullin & Dre Murray Cash & Burn - Single [Syntax]
Kristene DiMarco Song for My Children - Single [Bethel]
Amanda Janson Sinner to Saint - Single [Pure Mosaic]
JSP It's Not Your Fault - Single (independent)
Tae Lamar Vengeance II (feat. MotionPlus, Propaganda, and m1L) - Single [Polished Arrow]
Patrick Mayberry Everlasting Arms - Single [Provident]
No Vain Glory FLEX - Single [Syntax]
Jemimah Paine Reason - Single [Integrated Music Rights]
R.kitect Tha Deep End - Single [Syntax]
Razzie & theprodigaljoe Man Make Plans - Single [Syntax]
Saints in Exile My Mind is a Prison - Single [Syntax]
Carly Ann Taylor Why Should I Worry (Remind Me Version) - Single [Curb]
Jaci Velasquez, Evan Egerer ¡DALE! Praise - Single [Rixon]
NEEDTOBREATHE Momma Loves Me (feat. The Red Clay Strays) - Single [Omnivore]
Wisenheart Well-Worn Door - Single (independent)
Zahriya Zachary Shine n Me (feat. Edward Rivera) - Single [Bethel]

Next Friday, September 12, 2025
ALBUMS
Jervis Campbell Good Grief! (independent)
Demon Hunter There Was A Light Here [Weapons MFG]
Roxanne Grace Try Again [DREAM]
Ellie Holcomb The King Is Still The King [Capitol CMG]
Sower Contemporary Christian Machine - EP (independent)
twenty one pilots Breach [Fueled By Ramen]
Phil Wickham Song of the Saints [Fair Trade]

SINGLES
BASECAMP Under the Blood (feat. Knaladeus) - Single [Polished Arrow Music]
Dan Bremnes Find Yourself - Single [Curb]
Matt Hammitt Days God Gave - Single (independent)
Amy Jay Margins - Single (independent)
The Undertaking! Forever Remember - Single (independent)


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