Reviewed by Paul Briggs

I haven't listened to a praise and worship tape for ahout 12 years, so when I received this CD I wasn't too keen. In those days, music clearly came secondary to the message and you ran the risk of being called sacrilegious if you said anything unfavourable. Criticism however was often due. These the musical highlights of the worship at last year's Grapevine event. 13 songwriters, 16 songs and over 76 minutes of music - I was pleasantly surprised. The quality of musicianship is good. I particularly liked the fretless bass playing on the instrumental track "Abandon" and the surprisingly rocky guitar at the beginning of "He Can Make The Blind To See". A faithful rendition of Matt Redman's -When The Music Fades" shows what is possible when equal effort is put into music and words. Other highlights include the songwriting of Trish Morgan. Johnny Markin and David Lyon. God deserves our very best and some of these songwriters seem to be giving that. II you were in the crowd at Grapevine "97, I*m sure that this will bring back a lot of memories and keep you going till the next one. Spiritually. The highlight for me was the ad lib at the end of David Ruis" 'There Is A Place Of Commanded Blessing". The song calls for unity between the denominations. Now that really would be something!

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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