Reviewed by Tom Lennie

(Yet) another worship compilation, this time drawn from the Stoneleigh '94 to '99 live albums. It's certainly a generous offering time-wise, containing 16 tracks and lasting an hour and a quarter total. Many Stoneleigh favourites are here - "There's A Place (Because Of You)", "The King Of Love", "My First Love (Like A Child)", "Send The Fire" - you're almost certain to know many of them. Most are upbeat and feature Stuart Townend on lead vocals (though two tracks draw Kate Simmonds to the mic and one features Lou Fellingham). Included in the sleevenotes is the astonishing Story Of Stoneleigh written by the event's host Terry Virgo. One problem with this "highlights" compilation though, is that with 11 of the 16 tracks coming from Stoneleigh's '94, '95 or'96 recordings, much of the music already feels rather dated, as well as sounding (over) familiar. The clapping factor is also annoyingly apparent on all but the most subdued songs which, in my opinion, are also the most effective. "Jesus, Lover Of My Soul" for example, is gorgeously sensitive, as is the simple "Great Is He". Nevertheless, I personally much prefer the '99 'Covenant Of Grace' release, which, interestingly, only provides one contribution to this output. I'm sorry, but I can't see me returning to this volume very often.

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.