Reviewed by Tom Lennie

The two albums that make up this Memory Verse re-packaging (the first children's collection in the 'Two For One' series) were created in the very early '90s by Frank and Betsy Hernandez, who wrote all 20 songs that appear on each disc. Apparently they've proved extremely popular - on the other side of the pond at least - with over 600,000 units sold to date. Each track begins with a short introduction by Green, who relates the moral of each song; this is followed by a child reading the Bible verse in question - all taken from the New Testament (especially the Gospels), or the books of Psalms and Proverbs. Then comes the short memory verse, sung melodically by Green and/or a group of kids. The songs - no more than two minutes each in length - are catchy and variable and well sung in Steve's trademark MOR style. Indeed, Green often uses them in his own live performances. A DVD of the series also exists, but it's not included here, nor, unfortunately, is a lyric sheet, which would have been most helpful. Perhaps the American accents will put some British parents off the product but the online testimonies of numerous kids who were brought up with these songs and are now teaching them to their own children is fairly compelling evidence of their worth.

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