Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Down the decades Michael has had several musical makeovers. Starting out with something prog pop new wave, finding paydirt with singer/songwriter ballads and in recent years becoming a populariser of modern worship, Michael has always been prepared to try something new and has clearly never been tempted to sit back and enjoy his hard-earned status as an elder statesman of CCM. Instead, in February the 60 year old released this set which raised quite a few eyebrows amongst his long-time supporters because some of the tracks here are, more-or-less, EDM. The very idea that the veteran could re-invent himself with programmed drum loops, Top 40-sounding dancehall rhythms and autotuned vocals is intriguing and shows that Michael is fully conversant with today's music. In fact, "Conversations" is something you could almost imagine on a DJ Snake album. There are also some schmaltzy ballads like on "Footsteps" and "You Make Me Feel This Way" but his duet with Jordan Sparks, "Hey, Love", and "Who You Are", with a U2-flavoured slow build with chiming guitars and eighth note bass definitely pull the listener in.

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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