Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Cornerstone Church is situated in Johnson City in East Tennessee and 'Music Maker' is a live worship album recorded at the church. It's mainly original worship material written by worship leader Ann Burns and musical director Beverly Mullins. There's a rawness about the recording but then as this is a local church production, I'd imagine the budgets weren't huge. What you do get is some fine musicianship and some great original songs and where the arrangements occasionally feel a little too cluttered, particularly on the upbeat songs, slower material like the uplifting "Mighty King" and the excellent "Faithful" work very well. The title cut captures the spirit of this worshipping church very well and has a brilliant coda at the end. The cover versions are well chosen also so there's Jeff Deyo's "Bless The Lord" rather than a predictable Vineyard or Integrity song. They have done a great job marrying Rex Allchurch's "Kiss" with the Martin Smith song "Jesus' Blood" where the melodies are so similar that it would be a crime not to link them together! Despite the low budget, there is something good captured here and the church are to be applauded for developing their own worship writers.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.