Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

The aim of this musical presentation of the events of Good Friday is to look through the eyes of the main characters, to see who they thought Jesus really was. As each watches him die, he or she faces a challenge, a “cross examination” of their pre-conceived ideas. All the music has been written and arranged in-house, performed by the Bridge Chapel Band and sung by the Bridge Chapel Choir and a team of soloists, each representing one of the characters- Peter, Judas, Barabbas, the centurion, the two thieves, Mary and so on. Despite all this, however, the title of the thing is the best part of it. The Choir is enthusiastic but ragged, and sometimes painfully off key, none of the soloists has a particularly strong or distinctive voice, and the production is rather woolly, with the solos too low in the mix. And the songs- the best ones have tunes that have an annoying habit of worming their way into the memory. These all sound the same, with a very dated ‘60s feel to them, and each one is totally forgettable. There’s been obviously a great deal of effort put into this, but I question the decision to commit it to CD in its present form. Better songs and better production are needed- as it stands, it’s really not up to scratch.

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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