Reviewed by Rosemary Payne

I feel in good company in my previous lack of familiarity with this prolific songwriter. Though his albums have always sold by the truckload in his homeland of Oz, Geoff is s relative newcomer in these parts. Some of Geoff's compositions have sneaked into the last few Spring Harvest Songbooks and this double album compilation - 30 songs from previous recordings and two new songs thrown in for good measure - will be of particular interest to worship leaders. My first impressions however were to liken the music to a rather anaemic cup of tea, and not being a tea drinker at the best of times I had to put aside my musical prejudices. The songs are keyboard driven, anthemic, sometimes prophetic, and full of Biblical imagery and language, with faultless production but lacking the sort of raw 'edge' beloved by us Brits. While the music may not immediately penetrate and lift the spirit, meditate on the lyrics and you'll soon find your heart being drawn closer to God and surely this is the true measure of Spirit inspired worship which transcends musical style and culture. All the songs are beautifully arranged to within an inch of perfection and there are some particularly fine female vocal performances - unfortunately not credited in the otherwise helpful CD liner notes. The songs were written for the beautiful people of the Hills Christian Life Centre in Sydney where Geoff formerly led worship and I'm not sure how many will break into the British Church scene - notable exceptions could be the title track and the heartfelt "Just Let Me Say" on disc two. Nevertheless, if you're looking for an antidote to the post-modern, guitar-driven repetitious worship of Prosch, Smith et al, this is for you!

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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