STYLE: MOR / Soft Pop RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 22546-12376 LABEL: Independent FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Simon Redfern
Paul Critchley is a seasoned worship leader based in Staffordshire who has been writing worship songs since 1986 and Presence is a part of his ministry from which the 'Scent' project has evolved. It is a collection of 10 songs not pre-meditated as most are but wholly spontaneous and in the Spirit using just three people. A successful recording is hard enough, but one where you start from nothing is truly courageous and to make it work is another step beyond! The team comprises Paul himself on keyboards, Megan Potter on violin and Heather Butler on keyboards and they do work very well together as musicians, with subtle and well-produced arrangements with a certain raw quality that is a plus point. Who plays guitar though on "Everlasting" and others remains a mystery! Each track from the opening "Presence" to "Prodigal" progresses at a similarly relaxed pace with chilled vocals and discreet interjections from the violin. The lyrics are somewhat harder to judge; the words are obviously very Spirit-led and can really hit the spot, but you can't get the full benefit without careful attention. So it's a CD to listen to where you can get a little peace by yourself and really focus. Where this CD doesn't quite hit the mark however is on two fronts; one is keyboards with each track sounding a bit "samey" and where a little more variation in tone and style would have benefited the project. Secondly, Heather's vocals are on the whole great with a smooth haunting quality, but on occasions her voice strains a little and warbles with the odd duff note. Having said that, this is still a groundbreaking CD which could help many get to that place of peace and intimacy. One more small moan - they've misspelt "spontaneous" on the sleeve!
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not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed
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Posted by Heather in United Kingdom @ 22:25 on Jun 17 2007
It was really great working with paul on this cd, its always
nerve wracking doing something spontaneous because no one
has any idea of what will happen!
Paul has a wonderfully easy manner, and puts you at ease, so
it was a real treat working together. My favourite song is
Honey from the Rock, my son Tim had a dream about honey from
the rock, and so I felt it would make a good song, and the
Lord did the rest lol. There are some flaws in my voice,
unlike other cds you only get one chance, what you hear is
the very first time we heard the song ourselves as we
recorded. It was so strange having to re learn the songs,
the songs were new and fresh to us too! We have recieved
very moving reports of people finding solace in the songs,
many living in Israel, and other countries, people play
the cd to bring peace into their homes. We are so priveleged
to be part of that, knowing that people throughout the
nations are reached through the melodies and words of the
songs. We hear that relaxation classes in Jerusalem are
using them! We want to see Jesus honoured and lifted so
thankyou for your review, it was a real blessing. Catch
you later Heather. Hev the rev!
It was really great working with paul on this cd, its always nerve wracking doing something spontaneous because no one has any idea of what will happen!
Paul has a wonderfully easy manner, and puts you at ease, so it was a real treat working together. My favourite song is Honey from the Rock, my son Tim had a dream about honey from the rock, and so I felt it would make a good song, and the Lord did the rest lol. There are some flaws in my voice, unlike other cds you only get one chance, what you hear is the very first time we heard the song ourselves as we recorded. It was so strange having to re learn the songs, the songs were new and fresh to us too! We have recieved very moving reports of people finding solace in the songs, many living in Israel, and other countries, people play the cd to bring peace into their homes. We are so priveleged to be part of that, knowing that people throughout the nations are reached through the melodies and words of the songs. We hear that relaxation classes in Jerusalem are using them! We want to see Jesus honoured and lifted so thankyou for your review, it was a real blessing. Catch you later Heather. Hev the rev!