Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

It's a bit of a feat these days to create a studio worship album packed with vibe and free from musical cliché but here's one! Steve Counsel may look like a refuge from The Faces in 1973 but the Londoner knows how to create edgy worship that is the perfect antidote to the smooth banal stuff emerging from most quarters. Borrowing from his bluesy roots (Counsel blows a mean harp - check out "Roll Away The Stone"), vocally he sounds like a young Van Morrison spitting out the words here with a raspy soulful passion. Formerly the worship leader at Malibu Vineyard, it isn't surprising then to see Kate Miner pop up to add her distinctive voice to "Rock Of Love". The rich organic style captured here is reminiscent at times of the albums produced by Chris Lizotte back in the '90s. Counsel shows his softer side on mellower numbers like "Our Lord Has Come" and "Our God Of Glory" and then there's the brooding epic "Song For Mary". The greasy guitar groove of "I Wanna Know You" and "Let Your Love Rain Down" immediately put the album on the map. Although it's a little raggedy around the edges, that only adds to the charm and the overall organic production works well to help create an album that stands out from the overproduced identikit pap that passes itself off as worship these days. Definitely worth checking out if you want to worship and you actually like music!

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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