Reviewed by Doug Holland

This double CD (26 tracks and over two-and-half-hours of music) is a celebration of the first decade of music and ministry from Houghton and the band he regularly ministered with. The majority of Israel's best loved songs are here ("Friend Of God", "Not Forgotten", "Again, I Say Rejoice") while tucked away amongst the worship hits is a new song, "Jesus At The Center", which, recorded live, illustrates that the gospel worship man is still delivering material of the highest quality. As ever with a Houghton offering, the pace across the recording is pretty much relentless but with compositions, performance and production of the highest quality this compilation - if you can sustain sufficient energy - will undoubtedly keep you worshipping.

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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This essential collection brings together the best songs from multi-Grammy® Award winner and cross-cultural worship leader, Israel Houghton. The First Decade highlights the career and brightest songs from Israel Houghton and New Breed who transformed the sound of contemporary worship.

This double-disc repertoire has been remixed and remastered and introduces two new songs including the global church anthem Jesus At The Centre Of It All which is currently being sung by some of the largest congregations around the world including Hillsong, Lakewood, Free Chapel and others.