Reviewed by Della Ball

On this item, released in 2004, Britain's beloved Praise Party veteran takes a musically different approach from his usual rough-and-ready old time rock style. Here he teams up with Tanya (of the Bristol girl group T-Girl) and DJ Skillzy which brings a completely new feel to Ish's children's ministry. These Scripture-based pop and dance songs reinforce Christian principles in a simple but effective way, ranging from the simple repetition song "Strength" (based on Psalms and Ephesians), the dance groove (or jumpy as my eight year old described it!) of "Praise" through to the Messianic sounding "Grace". Each of the 12 song titles is a reference to attributes we find in God or in ourselves as we walk with Jesus. The album finishes with a declaration, "Freedom", based on John 8 v 36 which is a memorable number to sing along with. Anyone who loves Ishmael's songs will know that this will be an asset in family worship times - great for car journeys too! The final word must go to a quote from the album cover: "Oh - and if you are thinking that Ish is too old to be releasing pop CDs... of course he is! That's why Tanya is singing most of the songs!"

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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