Reviewed by Philip Croft

With a career spanning 25 years I'm not sure how you go about picking just eight songs but that is the task that someone has gone through in putting this collection together. Despite the length of his career all of the songs here were recorded between 1982-1986 when Michael was less mainstream than he is today and more cutting edge. Witness "Why" which starts with the haunting sound of the uilleann pipes recorded years before Iona even thought of getting together. Witness the messianic praise of the classic "El Shaddai" recorded as far back as 1982 which was well before most people knew what messianic praise was and which still sounds totally fresh today. Sadly there are songs here which have not aged quite so well but they are never the less testimony to Michael's talent and the reason why he has managed to hang around when so many others have fallen by the wayside. A budget compilation worth investigating.

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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