Reviewed by Phil Thomson

Good old Word Records/Alliance Music/Authentic Media. . .whatever. The company men and women come and go - yet someone in there has never lost his or her unerring ear for turning out quality. 'Lover Of My Soul' feels like a set of new songs quietly establishing itself as must-use titles, where the sheet music could even out run the recordings. There doesn't seem to be anything special by way of a fanfare, or the sycophancy which accompanies certain releases. Here we have an album which avoids the obligation to celebrity, name-checks, the event. The writers should get the credit - Hooper, Harsant, Rogers, Zschech, Wheeler among them - for it is the songs themselves which draw us into a place of reflection and contemplation. There's no histrionics, no big finish anywhere, simply a studio album of universally even output. The fact that it is mercifully hard to identify any "stars" makes it all feel and listen right, with alternating vocalists, a spray of brass or organ or piano here and there and a very able rhythm section holding the rather subtle arrangements together. Thus I feel the need to let you know at least who the vocalists are: stand up David Lyle Morris, Hope Turner-Plumb, Cathy Burton, Tifinny Tremain, Jim Bailey, Ed Hawkins, Simon Parkin, Andy Harsant. Individually, the songs are beautifully crafted. As a whole, this would also not be out of place in the "soaking" genre. And the someone? The album may well be exec prod David Bruce's swansong with the company - and a wonderful reminder of what a loss he is to contemporary British contemporary Christian music, as he moves on to other things after 30 years. A worthy addition to any CD shelf.

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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