Reviewed by Kwaku

When some supposedly contemporary gospel acts shroud their lyrics in ambiguity to appeal to the secular market (the subject of Dennis Austian's "Not Ashamed To Say His Name"), it's so refreshing to find a gospel act like Billy And Sarah, whose soulful music can appeal to that market but who declare in no uncertain manner who and what they're singing about. How can anyone be in doubt about what they are singing with titles like "Always Triumphant", "He's Risen In Me" or "You Are Faithful Lord"? That's just the first three tracks, talking respectively about the turning of the evilness of Joseph's sale into slavery into his triumphant rise to power in Egypt, the second one likens the Christian heart to the tomb from which Jesus rose to guarantee our salvation, whilst the title of the third song is self-explanatory. The 10 tracks here are culled from the duo's past work spanning 1986-1993. Whilst the music is mostly mid to down tempo and can sometimes vie towards MOR, Billy And Sarah sing with clearly understandable diction; Billy's songs are straight forward stories that don't try to be lyrically clever and they all have an easy sing-along quality.

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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