Rarities & Remixes (CD - 2000)

Additional personnel includes: Nich Moroch, Basil Fong (guitar); Benjamin Love (piano); Princeton Alliance Church Worship Choir, Crossroads Student Ministries Choir, "Extreme" Junior High Worship Team (background vocals).

Producers include: Robert Sterling, Bubba Smith, Greg Nelson, Scott Williamson, Loren Balman.

Compilation producer: Tony McAnany.

Engineers include: Roy Hendrickson, Tom Salta.

The obvious thing to say about Point of Grace's Remixes & Rarities is that it is a stopgap to tide the group's fans over until the release of their next new album, which will be the proper follow-up to 1998's Steady On. That said, the record has its pleasures. Its 15 tracks consist of four songs from each of the quartet's first two albums, Point of Grace and The Whole Truth, four from the 1992 album they released under the name Say So, two from various artists compilations, and one from their video, Life, Love & Other Mysteries: The Video Stories. The eight selections from the earlier PoG albums have been remixed, which, as in dance music parlance, here means more than just taking a new swipe at the volume levels of the various tracks in a recording, and also includes extensive overdubs. The result is certainly a more produced sound, but not necessarily a better one. The real value for fans will come with the Say So songs, which show the singers in a less produced mode that better reveals their talents. ~ William Ruhlmann

They sing of "gathering at the river of forgiveness" over slamming electronic pulses and blaring synthesizer bursts. They rhapsodize about the divine aspects of "Faith, Hope & Love," amid a network of beats that combine club rhythms and Latin syncopation. What else could it be but a Point Of Grace remix album?

Generally, remixes are reserved for artists whose music is already based in electronica, but the treatment works surprisingly well for this female quartet who sing unabashedly about their faith over backing that's never less than au courant. These reworkings of Point of Grace's spiritual pop tunes add a new electronic sheen without sacrificing the group's all-important message of salvation. Seldom has divinity been so craftily adapted for the dance floor as on RARITIES & REMIXES. minimize