Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Annie Herring, Matthew Ward and Nellie Ward Greisen were in everybody's book pioneers of Jesus music and this 1978 album shows 2nd Chapter Of Acts in the transitional stage when they moved from the simple musical evangelism of the early Jesus music to more market-driven CCM. Rock fans will miss the guitars which permeated their early recordings but 'Mansion Builder' shows a slickness of production which was pretty pioneering for 1978. A lushly arranged orchestra and some catchy pop tunes like "Rod And Staff" and "Well, Haven't You Heard?" work well while their recasting of "Psalm 93" shows the soulful voiced Ward admirably navigating the tempo changes. The highlight of the album is a cover of Keith Green's "Make My Life A Prayer To You" (a song actually written by Melody Green). All in all, this CD reissue is well worth investigating.

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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