Reviewed by Jackson Thompson

The leading figure in Messianic worship returns with a cinematic sounding project which takes in some Arabic textures. The Jacksonville, Florida-based worship leader has released over 30 projects in his career and this is one of the most intriguing. Wilbur "longs to reunite Christians with their Jewish foundation, thereby creating unity among God's people - Jew and Gentile." On 'Roar From Zion (Live)' he accomplishes just that, bringing together a band composed of Arabic Christians (Jew and Gentile) to put together his latest uplifting work. The album itself is not perfect and suffers from a lack of stylistic variation. But there are several spoken word pieces which keep the 77-minute album from feeling exhaustively long plus there is a reggae beat on "The King Is Coming" and appearances by guest singers such as Joshua Aaron, Shae Wilbur and Sarah Liberman. The album is mostly comprised of Paul and Shae Wilbur's songs with occasional covers like Robin Mark's "Days Of Elijah" and Carl and Leann Albrecht's "Your Love Is Far Better". Particular standouts for me were "Great Is The Lord (Hallelujah)" and "B'Elohim / Forever Amen".

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.

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.