Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

MAYC is the youth service of the Methodist church and 1995 marked 50 years of work. Young musicians from around Britain gathered to record this album to help the celebrations and it's clear that both orchestra and singers are highly accomplished, if you enjoy orchestral arrangements of choruses then there's much to enjoy here. Particularly creative is the instrumental "Senses Medley" where five worship songs are linked together to reflect the five senses of the body! "All The Riches" finds the singers coming on like a large group of "Flying Pickets"! Some of the pieces work better than others; occasionally it gets into classic rock territory where rock songs are given orchestral treatment to indifferent effect. I thought their version of Noel Richards' "Champion" might end up that way but in fact the orchestra only added to the brooding atmosphere of the song. Not so the opening jollifications of Graham Kendrick's "The Feast" which sounds like a 70s TV theme! (Hawaii Five O anyone?) Commendable is the choice of material which mixes popular choruses with some excellent but not often heard older material. A good example is the beautiful "Hallelujah My Father" which closes the album in gentle style.

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