Reviewed by Stephen Luff

There are many compilations in the market offering a "must have" collection of worship songs. Here we have one, although containing only 10 songs and lasting just over 50 minutes (short compared to some collections), exploring songs from many well known artists such as Third Day ("King Of Glory") and Tenth Avenue North ("Lamb Of God"), so expectations are high! I am pleased to report the collection does deliver in a big way. All recordings are from recent albums (details enclosed with the CD) except the opener, Michael W Smith with "You Are Holy" which comes from the 1994 'Worship Again' album. The track, however, sets the bar high and the rest of the album meets the challenge. "Open The Heavens" (Vertical Church Band) is energetic praise with great atmosphere while "Forever Reign" (One Sonic Society) is pure worship. Personal favourite for me is Andy Cherry's engaging "Our God's Alive". The only weak track is the over-programmed "In The Arms" (Carlos Whittaker), but this does not detract too much from a well above average worship collection.

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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