Reviewed by Rob Birtley

As close followers of Christian alt rock will know, The Classic Crime is a Seattle-based band who have been around for awhile. 'What Was Done Vol 1: A Decade Revisited' isn't an all-new album. In fact only two tracks are new, the rest are the first instalment of acoustic and re-arranged versions of some of their most popular songs of the past decade. The two new tracks, "Selfish" and "Where Did You Go", are wonderful additions to their catalogue. As for the re-imagined older tracks, the lyrics are unchanged and the general flow of the songs hasn't been drastically altered. Still the re-arranged musical and vocal elements add a new dimension to the pre-existing songs. Between Matt MacDonald's powerful and evocative vocals, acoustic guitars, additional strings, keys and percussion, this retrospective lets fans see the unplugged side of The Classic Crime. The result is these songs have been given a rebirth. This is best illustrated by "We All Look Elsewhere". With a masterful use of cello, it sounds more complete than before. Sweet acoustic guitar fills this album and it drives both "The Coldest Heart" and "Who Needs Air" to become highlights. The band proves that they aren't bound to their alt/rock roots, but can diversify to create beautiful, melodically arranged acoustically-driven music.

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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