Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

This compilation is taken from Word's 'Absolute' series and comprises 12 well known adult songs arranged with children singing. The songs chosen are certainly classics: "Better Is One Day", "How Great Is Our God" and "Beautiful One" give you an idea of the calibre of song we're talking about. The two production teams involved have taken different approaches; one has gone with a child choir being the primary element and the other has gone with child soloists leading and a choir accompanying. Whilst the child choir tends to sound a little featureless, the soloists sing not just in tune (which of course can be fixed if they weren't), but musically; a particular example would be the soloists on "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever", who sing with natural, emotive inflection rather than just singing the notes. The production is technically excellent, with the top quality mix of acoustic and electric guitar parts worth a mention. However, despite this much of the overall result seems somewhat sterile, as if the backing tracks are karaoke tracks in a box with the children dubbed on afterwards.

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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