Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

Irene Werner was called home in 1997, in her early 40s, after contracting termi­nal cancer. This album is a tribute to her life and her music, and all 10 songs here are Irene's compositions. The production, arrangements and programming duties are in the capable hands of John Perry; Irene's daughter Angela is among the singers, as is Bryn Haworth; and the songs themselves are a variety of styles: anthemic worship, thanksgiving and praise, power pop (with Bryn's slide guitar much in evidence) and gentle acoustic. Irene had a neat lyrical style, the tunes, whilst simple, are well written, and the singers and players are well up to scratch, particularly Bridget Baker, who has a strong, clear soprano voice. The arrangements are sparse but effective, the programming never obtrusive, and the whole thing is very well put together, with good artwork on the album sleeve, courtesy of Irene's son Mark. It's reported that Graham Kendrick enjoyed the album when he heard it, and I can see why. A fitting tribute, and well worth sending for.

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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