Reviewed by Peter Dilley

For CDs aimed at supporting children's work to be as effective as possible, they need to offer more than just recordings of the songs. Kingsway have clearly recognised this with their Children's Ministry label - this one includes almost everything needed for a comprehensive music resource: 12 songs from a range of writers, backing tracks too, plus acetate masters, melody line, guitar chord and lyric sheets provided as CD Rom features (PDF format). Adult vocalists are Ishmael and Aaron Frith of that gone-but-not-forgotten rock band Sabio and they're joined by a small children's choir. Several songs feature the "grown-ups" on the verses with everyone joining in on the chorus, an approach which is also likely to work successfully at the grassroots level. Early 1960s musical references crop up in places - the intro to opener "High Above The Earth" sounds just like the Rolling Stones' "Not Fade Away", and the backing for "I've Hidden Your Word, Lord" could have been lifted straight from "Rhythm Of The Rain" by the Cascades, although the actual song melodies are very different in both cases. "The Rainbow Song" and "Run For A Mile" score highly for their fun factor and the reggae-influenced "God Works For The Good Of Those Who Love Him" and "Jesus - He Is Lord" have considerable appeal too. On the minus side, "Thank You God" lacks pace and energy, as does "Dreaming Dreams", which also refers to outdated and inappropriate aspirational figures (Britney Spears and David Beckham). You probably just need to pick and choose the best tracks.

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