The biggest event of the year came via U2's The Joshua Tree (Island), which basically launched the Irish quartet into the stratosphere.  Chomping at the bit for almost a decade, they produced the planet's best album of the year (as critics and buyers have agreed in the 20 years since, with 25 million copies sold).

 

Their sixth album gave an international audience and rapidly-growing fan base such classics as Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, With or Without You, Bullet The Blue Sky, and In God's Country.  By this time, U2 had clone bands popping up all over Europe, America, and Japan.

 

Incredibly, U2's Island Records also signed up Christian Rock's best band in 1987 - The 77s.  Sacramento's Exit label's flagship New Music group, led by Mike Roe, was on board with the hottest company in the music business.  Catching a ride was Exit's Charlie Peacock and Robert Vaughn and the Shadows, both exhibiting Northern Cali flavors.

 

The Seventy Sevens was well-covered and well-received in the CCM universe, and fans of the Sevens were shocked and thrilled that their two favorite bands were joined into one, at least on a superficial level.

 

The brilliant 77's album included classics like Do It For Love and Can't Get Over It, as well as a solid, blues-based rock (with a new wave flavor) that included ballads to high speed material.  The fans and critics loved it thoroughly, and the Sevens went to the top of the heap.

 

Retrospectively, 1987 was an amazing year, as the best band in the mainstream rock universe and the best band in the Christian rock world were tied to the same record company from Ireland.

 

The future looked bright for fans of rock music with a Biblical theme, as evidenced by another brilliant album released by Lifesavers Underground (L.S.U.), masterminded by Mike Knott of the Lifesavers.

 

Shaded Pain (Blonde Vinyl) was one of the very first grunge works in all of rock music, coming from the California gang that Knott brought into his space.  Brilliant, dark, and very harsh (especially in the Christian music community), the album quickly generated a small, but avid following of listeners, including the Christian magazine critics.

 

Creating his own label and fold of artists, including his wife, Knott pioneered some of the angst and tension that existed on the underbelly of the growing Contemporary Christian Music monster/sub-culture/industry.

 

Another landmark album was A Christian Banned by One Bad Pig, who were able to combine the exciting and fun energy of garage, speed punk with sometimes serious, biting lyrics and messages.  Like the LSU project, the Pig album was an in-your-face experience that rose above the rest, especially in terms of genre originality.

 

More garage band sounds came from the popular Altar Boys and Against The Grain, which continued to expand the genre with an edgy, hook-filled, pop vibe that had just enough rebellion to attract many youngsters.

 

Yet, 1987 was also a time when Christian heavy metal reared its forceful head, as several old and new bands brought their big guitars, big hair, and big message to the masses.

 

Among the best metal albums of the year was Bloodgood's Detonation, which brought strong vocals and quality sounds to people who were starving for something similar to the mainstream tunes, without the immoral attitudes and lyrics.

 

Two more important metal bands came on the scene that year.  Whitecross put out their debut album of the same name, and Bride released Show No Mercy. 

 

Both bands took their exciting and energetic shows on the road, and quickly rose to the top of the charts of the Christian Rock world.

 

Also, Trytan released its metallic Celestial Messenger, which was mainly noted for its Getty-like vocals and providing the sub-culture with its only Rush imitators.

 

Super-group Daniel Amos continued their creative ways with Darn Floor, Big Bite, an album that pushed the edges of Christian alternative music.  Frontman Terry Taylor also released his second solo project, Briefing For The Ascent, another atmospheric masterpiece that many fans and critics adored.

 

Another innovative and enduring band started up in '87 - Mad At The World, whose debut album of the same title explored the new grounds of electronica like none other of the time.  They went to produce many more albums, adding a more hard rock sound and new fans along the way.

 

The year was also significant for four other CR artists who championed a more acoustic rock sound that gained fast acceptance in the bigger CCM world.

 

Margaret Becker's initial release on Sparrow, Never for Nothing, jettisoned her to the apex of her field, and the whole industry took notice of her talents.  With top-notch voice, several good songs, and a true rock element, the album plowed new ground.

 

One of the best albums of the whole year was Leslie Phillips' The Turning, which was a slightly radical departure toward organic, acoustic folk...a work that took Phillips into a new territory musically and socially. 

 

Musician/Producer Dave Perkins also put out his Middle American rock classic, The Innocence, which received great reviews, but got little sales, as most of the CR albums did in those days.

 

CR legend Mark Heard also released an album called Tribal Opera under the artist name of Ideola.  Sounding like no other work, before or after, Heard petrified his genius in the eyes of many other musical peers at the time.

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