Reviewed by Tony Cummings

For my money, Paul Critchley is one of the best "unknown" worship leaders in Britain. It is likely that any Christian living in Staffordshire who reads this review will agree with this last statement, though some may question the "unknown" word. One truth is, though, that although Paul has led worship at thousands of events large and small and has continually shown himself to be an anointed servant who can truly lead all kinds of congregations into the presence of God, modern worship fame hasn't come to Paul and his reputation hasn't extended beyond Staffordshire. So the invitation to minister at the high profile national Christian events or to record for the major Christian labels has eluded him. Not that that concerns Paul. He has continued to write songs and occasionally make low budget recordings of them. Like this EP. It shows Paul's mastery of melody and lyrics remains as strong as ever and he is an excellent pianist with a warm, expressive voice. Production isn't perfect of course. His vocal is a little low in the mix on the beautiful opener "Be Still" and the arrangements and tempos are too similar to each other. But when, in these troubled times, you listen to a lilting yet uplifting song like "Heaven Rain Down" ("Troubles may come/Nations may rage/But your faithful love endures forever") you are encountering a powerfully prophetic song that would benefit the whole nation if they were to hear it.

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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