You'd think the sting of Rich Mullins's untimely death would lessen with time, but the latest collection of works from this prophetic, insightful songwriting genius makes it hurt all the more. Listening to Songs 2 a 16-track sampling from the latter years in Mullins's career, one realizes that contemporary Christian music not only lost a great songwriting talent, it lost part of its soul in that tragic 1997 auto accident. There are so many good moments and memories on this release that it's difficult to single out a high point. Better perhaps to spotlight the different facets of Mullins and his fantastic colleagues, the Ragamuffin Band. "Hope to Carry On" and "Somewhere" carry the energy and zeal that was so much a part of Mullins's approach to music. Maybe ol' Rich captured his magic best in the track "Here in America" when he sings "There's so much beauty around us for just two eyes to see / But everywhere I go I'm looking." Indeed. Any fan of music, regardless of genre, should appreciate the muse, the honesty, and the urgency of Mullins on Songs 2. --Michael Lyttle