Reviewed by Mark Goodge

The problem with live worship recordings is that if you were there, you don't really need to be told about the CD, and, if you weren't, it has to be a pretty good one to make it worth bothering with. The 1999 offering from the Stoneleigh week's Re.Vive captures the feel of the event well enough, but on the first couple of listens I have to admit it didn't really grab me as much as I'd expected. Eventually, though, I stopped trying to listen to it at a polite level and whacked the amp up to the top - at which point this album came to life. It's a live album, and it needs to be heard at "live" decibel levels to be appreciated. Turned up nice and loud, it's a powerful contemporary worship album with some more-than-decent Paul Oakley songs on it. The live performance of the World Wide Message Tribe's "Frantik" is a bonus that adds to the overall value of the recording, but not all the other songs maintain the same quality -1 found myself wanting to skip some tracks after a few listens. Definitely worth a look, but only if the neighbours don't mind...

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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