Reviewed by Tony Cummings

It's been close to 20 years since John Francis (he wasn't a bishop then) first took his church choir into the pop arena with a single for Stiff Records. So it's a full circle for London's fiery TV preacher as he assembles a new choir and with help from some mainstream music heavyweights makes a new tilt at taking the soulful sounds of black church (or a somewhat modified version of it) into the pop mainstream. The modification comes in the shape of the song selection here (which my press release tells me was undertaken by Fame Academy's resident Christians, David and Carrie Grant). So as well as a few genuine Christian songs there's plenty of variable tracks that pass for inspirational amongst non-church goers (eg, "Let It Be", "(Something Inside) So Strong", "I Believe I Can Fly"). Such liberal song selection may be a wise commercial move though it has to be said that even guest R&B star Jocelyn Brown can't get close to the classic Mavis Staples rendition of "I'll Take You There" while another R&B star, Mica Paris, can make little sense of the lyrical tosh of "Let It Be". But there are one or two nice surprises. Great to hear a faithful rendition of the ancient spiritual popularised by O Brother Where Art Thou, "Down To The River To Pray" while it's good to listen to the soulful tones of the hugely talented Sharlene Hector in some context other than a TV commercial distributor of free bottles of Coke. Will 'Inspirations' be a big seller amongst non-church goers? I don't know but it's an intriguing shot.

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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