Though
Can't Stop the Rock isn't the last word on
Stryper, it does a decent job of summarizing the Christian rockers' contributions. Drawing on five
Stryper albums and providing two new songs ("Believe" and "Can't Stop the Rock"), the CD contains some essential tracks (including "To Hell with the Devil," "Free," and "Soldiers Under Command"), as well as some that listeners can do without. The saccharine, fluffy ballads "Together as One" and "Honestly" may be among
Stryper's best-known songs, but neither are even a fraction as exciting as their cover of
Earth, Wind & Fire's 1975 funk smash "Shining Star," included on the more comprehensive 18-track collection 7: The Best of Stryper, released in 2003. Nevertheless, if one is checking out
Stryper for the first time,
Can't Stop the Rock isn't a bad place to start. ~ Alex Henderson