Back more years than he'd probably care to realize, Michael Knott dramatically effected Christian music with the album Shaded Pain. Being the first CCM album to touch on dark themes, Shaded Pain became a classic. For many people, those were the days when Michael Knott was truly at his best.
After numerous good follow-ups, Knott seems to have entered a new level of even greater creativity as powerful today as Shaded Pain was in the 80's. Rocket And A Bomb takes a Dylan-ish story-telling approach recalling memories from Knott's most formative years as he lived in a crazy apartment complex on Sunset Strip in Hollywood, and when he actually had to live in someone's closet so he could afford to do ministry as a youth pastor. The album tells of people he met, like John Barrymore, who tried to give Mike a spanking, and Kitty Courtesy, whom Mike swears cooked her husband. More than anything, these songs look inside the heart of a young Christian truly struggling to find God's will and do it in the presence of opposition and insanity.
Secondly, Grace Shaker moves everywhere on the musical chart, with songs like the full acoustic "Double," the alternative pop "Thinking," the worshipful "Grace," and the classic L.S.U. styled "Freedom." This album takes more of a conceptual angle, beginning with a Christian man in a bar drinking and contemplating all the hurt in his life and then moving to a realization of the grace that frees. The album also talks about people who try to bring condemnation to this person once he's accepted God's grace, with the response simply being "Christ saves."
Musically, these albums are phenomenal, showing Knott's immense growth in writing brilliant pop. However, what makes these albums truly great is their openness. Knott lays it all on the line, revealing his innermost fears and hurts, leaving himself open to judgment, criticism, and possibly even ridicule. An album can only be so emotional without honestly opening yourself up as Knott has done. When Knott cries for "Grace," the listener feels as if he too is calling out to God. While in the hands of the legalistic, these albums will be controversial (as every Knott album is), but for those that live in reality, Knott has recorded two albums that will truly pierce the heart.