Reviewed by Tom Lennie

Many, of course, have sung various of the biblical psalms to their own music. Standouts in my book are a work by Rob Mathes and that remarkable six-album series by Ian White. This is the first of two CDs in which Manchester-based Joanna sets the whole of Psalm 119 - the longest psalm in the Bible, with 176 verses - to musical styles which alternate between quirky pop and (mostly) meditational, receiving on the way fine string, keyboard (Alex Robertson) and vocal accompaniment (esp track nine). In fact, virtually everything on this disc was done "in-house", including both the artwork and the recording (in their own 24-track digital studio). I've known of Barratt Ministries for years, so am aware of Joanna's deep, transparent spirituality, and the beauty of her unadorned voice, as is evident, for example, on her 2001 disc 'My Chains Fell Off'. Depth of feeling oozes from these 11 songs, but the sound is spoiled by an annoying lack of vocal clarity (particularly noticeable on track six). A real pity as this would otherwise make for an original and worthy project.

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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