Reviewed by Ian Thomson

Since their conception as a band in 1994, Yfriday have always been associated with church worship. Recent albums have captured their core energy, but the arrangements and construction of the songs have restricted access for thousands of churchgoers countrywide. Not so with 'Great & Glorious'. In keeping with a new direction for the band, here is an album that goes out of its way to be accessible. In fact, I don't think I have ever bought such a user-friendly CD. The cover contains all the songs' lyrics and chords; guitar-oriented worship ensembles will find this easier than to follow than a tow-truck. Further, check out the bonus DVD, which features video footage of Ken Riley teaching the guitar parts for six of the songs. Most useful is the extensive stripping-down that Yfriday have achieved. Gone are the inimitable high-notes of "Revolution". In their place we have the joy-filled title track which combines the power of Yfriday with lyrics and music that won't sound out of place in chapel on a Sunday morning. Songwriting contributions from Tim Hughes, Matt Redman and Andrew Neve have gone a long way to helping Yfriday make the transition to full on purveyors of congregational worship but in the process show that Ken Riley has developed to become one of the world Church's top composers of corporate worship songs. If you, like your reviewer, are still looking for a bit of complexity, the brilliantly titled "You Will Not Steal Our Children", co-written with Martin Smith, brings an esoteric change to the mood. It's not often you find Christian worship songs addressed to the devil! The production from Sam Gibson is exemplary too and it seems a strong possibility that after the huge success of Riley's "Everlasting God" the great American public will now embrace a superb band that have been blessing us Brits for more than a decade.

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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