Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

I would have thought it's a little early to be declaring the top ten praise songs of 2014, but Maranatha! Music are using a bit of prescience and have released this budget-priced CD early in the year. Included are various anthems of the church, many of which are sung in the church I am part of, such as Jennie Lee Riddle's inspirational "Revelation Song", Hillsong's "Mighty To Save" and Chris Tomlin's "Forever". There is a distinct lack of detailed information about the various Maranatha! Music series and this CD is as faceless as the rest in terms of who is singing and playing the songs. Apart from Shelley E Johnson's "Power Of The Cross", which comes from her 2012 EP, the recordings seem to mostly be in-house recorded versions of each song, not being as recognisable or as good as the songwriters' own recordings. The arrangements and performances are competent but they are too smoothed-out, lacking the edginess of the originals (such as with Lincoln Brewster's "Today Is The Day"), and some of the plastered-over strings simply don't work.

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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