Reviewed by Tony Cummings

How often do you hear a 'praise and worship album', to use that most unsatisfactory of phrases, that spurs you into presenting copies to all the folk in your church's worship group? Well, that's what happened to me with 'Proclaim His Power'. Now, as I come to review it, I find myself wishing the words like prophetic' and 'anointed' hadn't been so debased in praise and worship publicity circles for without them it's hard to convey the dynamic at work in this album. Bob Fitts is one of those American worship songwriters and leaders I'd been aware of in the past without ever finding myself drawn to investigate his work beyond the shallow observations that Bob possesses an easy-on-the-ear voice (not always true of the current bevy of worship leaders), writes choruses ideally suited for congregational worship (his best known songs being "Father In Heaven" and "Our God Is Faithful And Able") and that he lives in Hawaii. The first song in and I was doing the standard reviewer's stuff - live worship (and really live as opposed to the phoney, live-in-a-studio variety), a very nice, tight little band with producer Tom Brooks on keyboards, Marl Baldwin and Bob Somma (guitars), Craig Nelson (bass) and Carl Arbrecht (drums) and a very nice little choir of background singers full of session-seasoned voices (Rita Baloche, Lenny LeBlanc, Jamie Owens-Collins, Kelly Willard etc). But then the songs began to reach out, touching, empowering, envisioning. 'All The Earth' with its simple reminder that if we could only look up from our blinkered insularity we could feel a rise of faith as we remember again that all the earth, not just the religious structures, but all the earth, belongs to God; 'Some May Trust In Chariots' with its prophetic, timely reminder that the weapons of our warfare are not our activism and resources but a simple trust in the name of the Lord; and most exciting of all that, if we amen the prayers Bob uttered on 'Song Of Deliverance' and 'Let It Rain' that the Lord will send out from His throne room songs that are going to heal nations, songs that will break the power of darkness, songs that will spearhead the Holy Spirit revival that is going to grip this parched and needy nation of ours.

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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