Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

To celebrate a remarkable 60 years of Billy Graham Crusades, two of the legendary evangelist's most faithful musical stalwarts feature here alongside the First Baptist Columbia Choir and Orchestra to present and perform nearly two dozen favourites associated with the crusades. Perhaps even more remarkable is the sprightliness of compere Cliff Barrows and Grammy Award-winning vocalist George Beverly Shea who, at the time of recording, were aged 83 and 97 respectively. Understandably, Shea's energy is preserved by appearing in only a handful of tracks - most notably his own compositions "The Wonder Of It All" and "I'd Rather Have Jesus" - but his deep baritone tones remain intact and make for a stirring listen. The choir and orchestra feature heavily in the remainder of the release with old hymns such as "To God Be The Glory" and "Blessed Assurance" getting full gusto treatment much to the delight of the enthusiastic live audience alongside gentler numbers like Graham's altar song "Just As I Am". As you would expect, Barrows skillfully holds proceedings together with a great deal of humour, passion and poignancy and, whilst this release won't be to everyone's taste due to the old school nature of the songs and presentation, there is no denying that the work of Graham, Shea and Barrows deserves to be lauded.

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