Reviewed by David George

Bethel Praise is the Warner Alliance contribution to the already crowded field in the live praise and worship stakes, and the form of these first albums suggests that they are going to give the rest of the stable a run for their money. The musicianship is excellent and the technical quality impeccable. But despite the consummate professionalism of the musicians, singers and worship leaders (John Chisum and David Baroni), there is a certain something lacking from all three recordings. They do, it has to be said, err a little on the tame side. The producers of live praise and worship albums seem convinced that God only listens to Radio 2, and Bethel Praise are not about to disagree. Most of the material was unfamiliar to me but after a couple of plays I felt as though I'd heard it all before somewhere. The arrangements might have been done by Simon May, and the lyrics are of the "we're just really going to worship you right now Lord" school. That said, there are some bright spots: some beautiful solo singing, superb keyboard playing throughout (largely uncredited), the tight funk of "A Lot To Celebrate"; they even manage to breathe new life into "Shine Jesus Shine". So, if you like your worship live and mid-Atlantic, then these CDs are worth a look though it does seem a shame that Warner Alliance have decided to ape a tried and trusted format, rather than try something different. A shrewd commercial move, yes; exciting listening, no.

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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