Reviewed by Simon Eden

Recorded live at the Colorado Springs megachurch New Life, appropriately enough the sometime Desperation Band frontman has a sound big enough to fill a stadium. Piano based worship songs with plenty of rock electric guitars, Jared's vocal sound has a tinge of country not dissimilar to Steven Curtis Chapman. Despite being a worship leader Jared performs songs here that are more Saturday night concert in the church auditorium than Sunday morning in the sanctuary. For a live album the recording quality is crisp, possibly too much so for a live album, with little crowd participation other than clapping at the end of songs. The outstanding track is the John Mark McMillan song "How He Loves" which is haunting in its simplicity and, of course, contains that notorious line about God's "sloppy wet kiss". Jared displays plenty of passion though his version is not as moving as the original or the the classic rendition by Jesus Culture. The remaining 10 songs are fairly similar in tempo, structure and style with a consistent arrangement of piano, electric guitar and drums providing a full sound that, in truth, begins to veer towards monotony.

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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