Reviewed by Tom Lennie

Here's a remarkably ambitious debut venture - a striking six-CD box set featuring no fewer than 79 brand new compositions! It's the brainchild of one Bonnie L Moore, a lawyer from Honolulu, Hawaii, and is the result of a prophecy given jointly by prosperity preacher Kenneth Copeland and musician Phil Driscoll at a Copeland convention back in 2007 (which Bonnie attended), calling forth musical creativity from many of those present. The next morning, Ms Moore woke up with a new song in her heart, one she was sure had been given to her by the Lord. From that date new songs of worship have been streaming from her copiously. This lavishly designed box-set is the result. It's a voluminous package, consisting of six CDs (which can be bought individually). Ably revealing the creator's affection for her product, the art-work of each CD cover was carefully designed by Bonnie. Each CD represents a different them - these are, 1) 'The Lord God Collection (I Am)'; 2) 'Creation Collection (A New Creation In Christ)'; 3) 'Praise & Worship Collection (Keys To The Kingdom)'; 4) 'Marana Tha Collection (Come, Lord Jesus)'; 5) 'Covenant Collection (Everlasting Love)'; 6) 'Israeli Collection (Jerusalem Rose)'. So, variation in theme, but not in musical style, which is inspirational from start to finish - lyrically rich pieces, and very ably sung by five or six individuals, variably (Bonnie isn't one of them), with keyboard programming providing the backing throughout. The singers are all clearly gifted vocally and the programming is adequate. But there's a problem with the songs themselves. Certainly, they sound pleasant enough, but there's very few that stand out as truly impressive. They kinda wash over you, but leave you remembering none in particular. That would be significant enough on a single album - but when it's also true for a full six discs, something's got to be wrong. I also find that Bonnie tends, at times, to push too many words into a single line, making them sound a little awkward (a bit like the man from Japan/Whose limericks never would scan/When asked why t'was so/He said "Don't you know/I always try to get as many words into the last line as I possibly can"!). The reason for this lyrical abundance is that the writer has so much to share from God's word. For all of these lyrics are deeply soaked in the Scriptures, and there's a write-up for each song (yep, all 79) in the sleevenotes, which are veritable Bible studies in themselves, packed with Bible references. So, rich in spiritual truths as they are, these musical pieces carry definite inspirational value - and Ms Moore is to be applauded for the love and energy which she has poured into this formidable set. But I do feel that if she wants to market her output more effectively, she needs to pick the very best of all her repertoire and put them on a 12-song, single volume, using the same singers (they're pretty good), but adding some real instrumentation (not just programming, which gets wearisome). As it stands there's just too much that fails to truly impress.

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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