Reviewed by Tony Cummings

A few years back one of the most popular artists on the British Christian music scene was Marilyn Baker whose sweet-toned voice, melodic compositions and piano accompaniments found a receptive audience amongst Christians of a certain age who didn't enjoy pop and rock sounds but wanted music which reflected love and devotion for Jesus. May I suggest that Britain's Catholic Church has, in Alice Montgomery, a singer/songwriter with the gift and the anointing to find a similar niche in her particular denomination. Alice is a trained musical therapist and such is her impressive skills on the concert grande that now that the Lord has gifted her with songwriting skills her songs of divine adoration have the potential to touch thousands of hearts. With simple accompaniments recorded at Motherwell's renowned Foundry Music Lab 'Amazing Mercy' abounds in rich melodic songs with "Will You Stay Just An Hour With Me?", "Deep Calls Out To Deep" and "Come Then, My Love" being particularly memorable. One small criticism is that despite being beautifully played Alice's piano over the length of an album makes for a rather one-dimensional listen (and in fact Graeme Duffin's acoustic guitar accompaniment on the closing "How Beautiful Jesus Is Your Mercy" makes for a welcome change). Maybe on her next album the Foundry Music guys could bring in a string quartet or something to add some production depth to Alice's voice and piano. But overall I'm optimistic that Alice's brave efforts to establish herself in music ministry circles will be rewarded.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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