Reviewed by Richard Toller

This is the album I've been waiting for. At last, a collection of instrumental versions of worship songs and traditional hymns which is not just pleasant, relaxing, and... wake up, the CD's finished! This one refreshed my tired and worried spirit. In the words of one of the hymns, "I came to Jesus as I was/Weary and worn and sad/I found in Him a resting place/And He has made me glad." I never liked that hymn very much, but God used the music alone to touch me in a way it never did with words; and each song gains something by having the words taken out! I know this album's refreshed others and lifted their spirits as it did mine. Why so effective? Clean, fresh arrangements, fine musicianship from the likes of Dave Clifton and Nick Fletcher (guitars), Troy Donockley (uillean pipes and whistles), Dave Fitzgerald (flutes), Chris Haigh (fiddle), Tim Harries (bass), painting fine strokes over Tim Oliver's Enya-like keyboard washes. If the word lona springs to mind, yes there is an lona feel to some of the tracks and I found this album, like theirs, very difficult to categorise (roots?, ambient/meditational? - it's music!). Lovely music from fine musicians, but most of all, the Spirit of God breathes through this music.

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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