Reviewed by Phil Thomson

Any team who can take Jude del Hierro's "More Love, More Power" and weave it into a creditable worship song for children deserves high praise indeed. This is another of Vineyard Music's consistently high quality products - a mixture of well known worship hits (eg, The Hemmings' "Great Big God") and brand new kid-friendly songs with arrangements so inspired, so perfectly crafted, it is surely a children's album for adults. I was captivated; not least for the producer having the courage to also feature lively, normal adult church material with 'grown-up' leads ("He Reigns" written by Peter Furler and Steve Taylor). All through, the ensemble children's choir are handled with a perfect lightness of touch, the vocals are mercifully unpatronising and the overall style has a very contemporary edge, for once crediting the kids with understanding creativity, inventiveness and timing. Nothing shallow and sing-songy here - you can feel the moves. 'Apple-icious' is one in a four separate CD series - the resource offering the follow-on backing tracks as part of the package, enhanced with free guitar chord charts and overhead masters. If you wish to search them out, they are 'Banana-na-na', 'Notorious Orange' and 'Cha Cha Cherry'. You get the flavour? Very tasty.

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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