Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The front cover of this album says that this is "X-generated worship.to the freaks, for the freaks, by the freaks." Well, they said it, not me. The (unnamed) man in a suit inside the cover makes a nice little speech explaining who the 'Chosen One' is, and then the girls and boys from Youth Alive are allowed to come out and play. Sorry, but does this sound a wee bit patronising? I suppose this goes to show how difficult it is for the Church and para-Church organisations to attempt to appeal to the unchurched without becoming compromised, while remaining relevant. And it shows how good the World Wide Message Tribe are in achieving this goal. In places, Youth Alive do not sound unalike the Tribe, although they are at their best when playing standard grunge-flavoured rock. The weakest tracks, at least in the reviewer's ears, are the softer praise and worship ones. Perhaps, as is so often the case with live recordings, you had to be there to truly appreciate it.

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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