STYLE: Roots/Acoustic RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 4073-5098 LABEL: Myrrh 7012571268 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1 RRP: £4.99
Reviewed by Trevor Kirk
Fernando Ortega is one of those "overnight successes" who has taken years to get where he is today; his official discography goes back to 1991, with several independent releases before that. This, his second album for Myrrh, builds upon the achievements of This Bright Hour' (Dove Award nomination for Inspirational Album Of The Year), and gives us 11 tracks of beautifully simple (and simply beautiful) music. This is easy listening, but not in the pejorative sense; there's nothing bland about this - whether it's a rootsy version of "Be Thou My Vision" with fiddle and cello giving a very Celtic feel, or the title track, with harmony vocals by Kelly Willard, which in other hands would score high marks on the Corn-ometer, but here is a gentle, thoughtful ballad that reflects on life's journeys and expresses longings to return home, both in the earthly and heavenly sense. There is so much here to enjoy - it's a relatively rare achievement for a follow-up album to be better than its predecessor, but this is so much better that it's not far off perfect.
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