Beyond the Blue
Gospel Crusade, 1970

I'll try not to hype this up too much, but it's far and away my favorite Christian kiddie record. The Fremont, Ohio-based Christian Astronauts created their own homespun space travel performance featuring a cast of their own family members, a space explorer dummy named Jerry, and a cardboard robot named Loose Nut who, I guess, was programmed to communicate in a Southern drawl. The production chronicles their adventures in space in search of their Lord Jesus and his heavenly resting place. The introductory "Prepare to Fire" and "Countdown" bits, featuring one of the very few outer space gospel songs I know of, is unlike anything I've heard. Between the no-fi "mouth sound rockets" and Sister Shoup's atonal vocals, this is a trip like no other. MP3 above is a large download, but believe me, it's worth it.

I managed to track down the good captain and obtain permission to reissue this album on CD. Please see the CDs section and read more here at my label Companion Records. Also click here for a must see group photo.