Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Nobody could fault the quality of the worship songs here. Classic choruses from the pens of (deep breath) Graham Kendrick, Noel Richards, Robin Mark, Martin Smith, Brian Doerksen, Bob Fitts, Paul Kyle, Stuart Townend, Dave Fellingham, plus one or two hymns from Timothy Dudley-Smith, are all here. And with a triple CD box giving you 50 recordings for the price of a CD, nobody could knock the value-for-money aspect either. The problem, as with the previous volume, is the quality of the new recordings featured here. Sounding like they were done on a cheap-and-cheerful production line, the production/arrangements by veteran Chris Norton are unrelentingly dull and though the session singers do their best, most vocals are characterless. I'm rather keen on the idea of highlighting (via the copyright licensing scheme) the 500 most performed songs in Britain's churches but on this set there are too many anointed songs reduced to the level of muzak. If you want an exhaustive library of the worship top 500, this series may do you. But if you care about the artistic dimension of the recordings you listen to, 'The 500 Series' won't impress.

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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