Mark Lawrence - Standing In Awe

Monday 6th January 2003
Mark Lawrence - Standing In Awe
Mark Lawrence - Standing In Awe

STYLE: Pop
RATING 4 4 4 4
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 6512-6673
LABEL: Independent
FORMAT: CD Mini-album
RRP: £4.99

Reviewed by Steve Best

A student at Bristol Baptist College, worship leader at a local church as well as at a regular youth celebration, Mark Lawrence is demonstrably passionate about worship. These eight songs were recorded in a friend’s front room, and the stated aim is to get published. Mark won’t be surprised to hear that the low budget doesn’t help his cause. Although I’d have to say full marks for using a real drum kit - so many people bypass it in favour of badly programmed drum machines -they are too high in the mix here. I’d also have to say that Mark’s not the most inspiring singer, with a delivery a little like Paul Heaton of the Beautiful South. The end result is fairly flat and uninspiring, and these songs - well intentioned as they are - add nothing new to the worship canon. My advice would be to work on the songwriting a little more, work on the vocal delivery too, give a little more attention to musicians used - the aforementioned drums and the backing vocals, which are somewhat lacking in imagination, and maybe approach a publisher in another 18 months time.

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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Reader Comments

Posted by Alan Morris in Yate @ 23:03 on Oct 26 2005

In Mark's defence (going to the church where he has frequently led worship) I would say that he is an emerging talent. I think it's great that he's managed to produce a couple of CDs on a low budget. Hopefully it will encourage other young song writers to translate their thoughts and worship into reality. Mark has produced the odd gem which has stood the test of time. I think the review would have benefited from identifying one or two of the better tracks. In any case, my young son loves his CD and often has asked for it to be played so he can strum/drum along to it.




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