Reviewed by Philip Crawley

On receiving this anonymously packaged set I spotted Simon Goodall credited as one of the singer/songwriters. Simon visited my fellowship last year to talk and lead praise and I know he has a heart for worship music. With this in mind I listened to the dozen songs with fresh ears. Russ Hughes is the other main contributor and the team have assembled a fine collection of both contemplative and upbeat numbers. I suppose these kinds of collaborations always suffer a bit from the "sing along" feel of some of the songs (why can't they lean a bit more on harmony like black choirs do?) but Simon's voice cuts through the songs he sings. Often compared to Sir Cliff he has a purity of tone that really suits some songs. "Always" has a chorus that although slow and contemplative builds and stays with you. "Man Of Sorrows" is a 19th century hymn that is sympathetically arranged and is the one track I could imagine taking to my worship leader as it has a power and strength of melody that any congregation could sing.

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