Reviewed by Dancin' Dave Derbyshire

This live recording of the legendary gospel artist and worship leader Byron has been hailed by some as his best work. True the sound of 'Faithful To Believe' is a lot more upbeat, less predictable and better arranged than his more recent offerings while some of his lyrics are courageously honest ("The Lord lifted my hands when I felt like throwing in the towel" on "Thankful" and "If I could, I would change the things/The things that brought me pain" on "For My Good"). And I'm sure fans will be talking about the laid back "Lord You're My Everything" for some time, as Byron is joined by those towering talents Marvin Winans and Karen Clark-Sheard for a momentous track. But, unfortunately I couldn't get over the fanfare opening at the beginning of the album that sends so much praise to Mr Cage - when I actually thought in the build up that the praise was going to be directed at Jesus. I don't think I'm the only one that will find this sort of thing hard to stomach. Though this is good album, that ghastly intro and two or three mediocre songs stop it from really being Byron's best.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.