Maranatha! Music - Heart Of Worship Series: 4 CD Box Set
STYLE: MOR / Soft Pop RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 150755-22390 LABEL: Maranatha 0738597223129 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 4 RELEASE DATE: 2014-05-19 RRP: £16.99
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
Back in the '70s Maranatha! Music, which grew out of California's Calvary Chapel, were a seminal force in the development of modern worship music. As the years went on though, their sound became mushier and long before the company was sold they had adopted a small choir, easy listening approach for many of their releases. More disappointingly, they seem to have lost the ability to attract young worship songwriters and in recent years Maranatha! releases have depended largely on cover versions to keep the flow of albums coming. In 2010 after more corporate takeovers the company started the Heart Of Worship series (a far from an imaginative name as there had already been American and British Heart Of Worship series of albums). Volume One of Maranatha!'s HOW offers purchasers competently produced covers of songs from the likes of Hillsong, Tomlin, Hughes, Zschech, etc, and it sold well enough for further volumes. Vol Two offers several more Tomlin recreations plus a surprising inclusion of Dennis Jernigan's "You Are My All In All" from 1991; Vol Three takes in more Hillsongs, a poor version of Bluetree's "God Of This City" and a so-so rendition of Kathryn Scott's "Hungry"; while Vol Four (only 10 tracks this time compared with the first two volumes' 15 each) offers average renditions of Matt Maher, Matt Redman and Stuart Townend songs. The four volumes have now been packaged together in a box set and if you're looking for quantity more than quality in your modern worship buying, this might do you.
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Product Description
This 4-CD box set contains Heart Of Worship Vols 1&2, Prayer and Grace.