Various Artists

The WOW partnership, that successful juggernaut of contemporary Christian compilation albums, is once again tinkering with its sales format in order to compete with iTunes. Instead of issuing one 2-disc collection of the year’s best in the fall, they plan to issue three separate single CDs throughout the year, allowing them to publish current hits. They’ve also dropped the specific year moniker, giving them wiggle room to incorporate most any song they want to include without the constriction of a timeline.

WOW Hits 1, the first in the new series, draws heavily from 2007 for its body of solid, mainstream radio hits, three of which are still lingering on Billboard’s top 20 “Hot Christian Songs” for the week of May 24, 2008. If your music budget allows for only a few CDs per year, and if you don’t mind hearing the same big-name artists with just a sprinkling of lesser-knowns, and if you’re not averse to buying mostly mellow songs you’ve already heard a gazillion times on the radio, then this album is tailor-made for you.

In an effort to include urban genres, past WOW albums often made for choppy listening, but with the exception of tobyMac’s mildly rappish syllabic stream in “I’m For You,” this CD’s playlist is as smooth as pudding. If you’ve ever purchased and burned a dozen of your favorite songs only to find that the result is inexplicably gosh awful, you know that placing the right songs in the right order is an art form, and WOW does it right on this one. By placing Point of Grace back to back with Barlowgirl, female vocals tie the upbeat, thumping “All the World” with the ballad, “Here’s My Life.” Similarly, piano is the thread that links “You Are Everything,” “Give Me Words to Speak,” and “God In Me.” Only three of 19 tracks feature exclusively female leads, but again, male vocals provide a tie that binds the album.

Although critics charge that some of these songs are older than dirt, closer scrutiny reveals that a few tunes just took a bit of time to percolate up into the spotlight. Brandon Heath’s “I’m Not Who I Was” and Third Day’s “Tunnel” originated on 2006 and 2005 albums, respectively, but both songs are on Billboard’s 2007 year-end list of top 40 “Hot Christian Adult Contemporary” hits, along with seven other WOW Hits 1 tracks. Casting Crown’s ode to self-flagellation, “East to West,” deservedly picked up a Dove award for “Song of the Year,” while David Crowder Band’s “Everything Glorious,” with a catchy introductory chord sequence weirdly similar to “That’s Why We Praise Him,” won a Dove award for “Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.” (Are there awards for songs that aren’t recorded? Like, a Best Sung In The Shower Award?)

Michael W. Smith’s “So Great,” the first release from the Compassionart sessions, is supposedly the album’s big draw, although it’s also available at iTunes. The vocals by Israel Houghton and Christy Nockels are truly so great, rather than the song itself. In case you were locked away in a closet and missed them, other greats include Jeremy Camp’s “Give You Glory,” Chris Tomlin’s “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone),” and the soothing “Give Until There’s Nothing Left,” by lesser known Relient K. Of the three bonus possibly-future-hit tracks, WOW got it right by including Tenth Avenue North’s “Love is Here,” currently number five on Billboard’s “Hot Christian Songs.”

Although the CD doesn’t include lyrics, it does have artist notes for each song. You can read about Matthew West’s vocal surgery, Skillet’s lead singer’s prodigal father, and the long forgotten verse of “Amazing Grace.”

Whether or not to purchase WOW Hits 1 is a mathematical game. At full retail price of $17.99, you may as well download 19 iTunes favorites for $19, but it’s selling for less at most retail outlets. Six months from now, it’s likely to be a bargain price for a great collection.

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