Reviewed by Simon Eden

Next time you listen to Jesus Culture's or David Crowder's versions of "How He Loves" remember that neither wrote this classic worship song. John Mark McMillan penned the original on the marvelous independent release in 2005 'The Song Inside The Sounds Of Breaking Down'. If you have a copy of that, congratulations and check out the re-sale value on par with a Picasso. Just so you don't miss out however, Integrity Music have packaged together this four track EP comprising "How He Loves", "Ashes And Flames" and "Breaking Down" which all come from the 2005 album, in addition to the opening track "Skeleton Bones". So that raises two questions, is the original version any good, and how do the other tracks compare. John Mark's version of "How He Loves" is more rocky that David Crowder's piano-based version, but the authentic passion is raw and the lead guitar is the soundtrack to aerial acrobatics of a stunt plane or maybe your best air guitar. The backing choir take the song into the realms of congregational worship. So yes the original is genius. The same raw authenticity is there in the other tracks, which although not quite as phenomenal are still quality. In an acoustic rock style British listeners may liken to Newton Faulkner, but American's may liken to Bruce Springsteen this is raw, emotional songwriting at its best.

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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