Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

I must confess that when I first saw this double CD arrive, my heart sank. I expected dull, if not terminally cheesy, arrangements of old clapped out worship anthems, sung by anonymous sing-a-long-a praise merchants. That's what I expected, but what I actually got was totally different and a hugely pleasant surprise. I should have known what was coming when I saw the cast list: Tracey Riggan, Dave Bilbrough, Louise Fellingham, Paul Oakley, Esther Alexander and Carla Hayles amongst others on vocal duties, with Mark Edwards, Phil Crabbe, Stuart Townend, Raul D'Oliveira and Ben Castle in the band. So, what about the music itself? As the title suggests, these are the top 25 praise songs as compiled from returns made by UK churches to Christian Copyright Licensing (Europe) Ltd. Most of it is '80s, there's nothing younger than 1995, and all the big names are represented, including Matt Redman, Noel Richards, Graham Kendrick and Brian Doerksen. So, time to bite the bullet - I shoved CD One into the player and what a surprise. "Shine Jesus Shine" is transformed into trip hop cum ragga, with The Watchman rappin' away like a good 'un; Jack Hayford's "Majesty" has an 'Asia Worships'-style intro before Dave Bilbrough comes on strong over a solid beat; Tracey Riggan hits the groove and doesn't move as she turns the old Heartbeat anthem "Come On And Celebrate" into something that wouldn't be out of place in a DJ Coopoid dance party, and at last an up-to-date reading of Ishmael's "Father God I Wonder", courtesy of J K Jamieson. One or two reworkings don't do justice to the originals - hardly surprising, when there are such timeless classics as "Shout To the Lord", "Once Again", "I Will Offer Up My Life" and "Be Still" - but on disc two Carla Hayles does her soul diva thing and wraps her tonsils around Brian Doerksen's "Faithful One" and Gerrit Gustafson's "Only By Grace", and those two definitely pass The Old Grey Prickle Test. A must if you're fed up with wet lettuce praise. Me, I can't wait for Nos 26 to 50!

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