Reviewed by Alan Smith

An amalgam of styles and textures from the Gospel Belt of the Southern States. Predominantly a black-sounding collection, but with white faces and voices too. The 11 tracks cover everything from soft rock, through traditional gospel to pop and ballad with a strong emphasis on a unity theme. Hence, "Like Minded, Like Hearted" sets the mood, ending up 10 tracks later with "There's A Place For Us". Musicianship and production is generally excellent, the various combinations reading like a who's who of USA Christian music. The whole thing has been put together by Jeff Moseley and Paul Wright, each track featuring different artists, amongst whom are The Canton Spirituals, Oleta Adams, Gary Chapman, Daryl Coley/Sandi Patty (on "If I Were You"), Clay Crosse and Natalie Grant, to name about a quarter of them. A feast of music, then, but with no scriptural platform, which is a shame because there is a commanded blessing of God where brothers live in unity. It would have been the perfect masthead for Ihis collection rather than quotes from St Francis, as good as they are, compounded further by Paul Wright's humanist screed on the subject. In Christ all things are possible, the Bible tells us, not desire, prayer and belief. 7 squares for the music, two for the packaging.

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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