Reviewed by Tony Cummings

It was great to hear the un-inimitable voice of Pete Furler on the opening track "Greatness Of Our God". Let's face it, it was a brilliant idea to, for a season, expand the current Newsboys line-up to take back in Furler and Phil Joel for touring and recording, and though that's caused a bit of confusion among the various websites as to whether the group should now be credited as Newsboys or Newsboys United, their sell-out US performances and big sales of this album (released in May) show they have lost none of their unerring ability to deliver the catchiest pop rock in CCM. Utilising over 20 co-writers, there are plenty of worship songs on offer here with "Greatness Of Our God", "Symphony" and "This I Know" (all released as singles) all being uplifting though none quite reaching the heights of the best Bethel Musics and Hillsong Uniteds, though the switch leads between Michael Tait and Furler work well. Of the worship material, the best song is the cover of Bryan and Katie Towalt's "Set Me Ablaze", with Pete Furler's impassioned lead taking the lines like "Breathe/Come and breathe on the coals of my heart/Let your fire start in me" and making it a goose-bump inducing closer to the album. Of the non-worship orientated songs, one you'll be hearing a lot on Cross Rhythms radio is "Love One Another", which has a hint of the old Newsboys of the 'Take Me To Your Leader' era with its witty lyrics, though ironically it brings in yet another guest vocalist, the black sheep Kevin Max, who copes admirably against the jagged guitar riff. Other radio friendly standouts are "Never Setting Sun", "Fearless" and "This I Know". All in all, it's clear the Newsboys franchise is still in safe hands.

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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