The songs that probably made me

In the early months of being a Christian, now some 38 years ago, 2 albums provided wonderful company and comfort to me. They were probably formative in ways I didn't recognize at the time - Jim Reeves' We Thank Thee (sadly absent from Spotify) and Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord by the incomparable Mahalia Jackson.

I listen to them, now and again, and have the most wonderful memories stirred. Lonely evenings in a Doncaster bedsit illuminated by joyous, defiant faith (Mahalia) and the calm, measured tones of straightforward truth, even when it veers towards cliché (Jim).

A whole new world was opening before me and these albums helped me begin to see some of its contours through the mist.