Reviewed by Philip Crawley

A couple of years ago I was helping out at a youth event and the one tune that seemed to sum up all of the hopes and worship of the evening was The Source featuring Candi Staton's "You've Got The Love" (which is here on CD 2). Even after all these years it is still remarkably fresh. Disc 1 is labelled as 'traditional' gospel and has 15 tracks that are a mixture of standards (but even these Candi makes her own - "Go Tell It On The Mountain" is the best rendition I've ever heard!) and disk 2 is 'contemporary' - but, as mentioned, they are pretty timeless too. When I looked down the track listing I was surprised to see "Bridge Over Troubled Water" but it really works. "Sin Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is a sermon in four minutes and at no point does Candi shirk from down-the-line evangelistic lyrics (she is the credited writer on the majority of these songs). The other cover (which for me doesn't work so well) is Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?". However, that aside this is a stormer of a compilation and if you have any interest in Candi and are light on the extensive back catalogue this project is a great starting point. "When friends are gone I know my Saviour's love is real, you got the love."

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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