Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

South Yorkshire-based folk singer and children's ministry man Michael J Tinker has pulled together a collection of his catchiest tunes for use in a church setting. Whilst the majority of the songs here have featured on previous albums, proceedings kick off with two brand new tracks - the indie pop of "Jesus Is The Hero" and the acoustic "Come And See" - both of which highlight Tinker's ability to use different styles and sounds to communicate the gospel message. Carrying on in this vein, Tinker straddles a number of genres ranging from some cod Elvis rock 'n' roll in the slightly cheesy "The Rock Went A Rolling" to a sea shanty in "Donkey Riding" with everything from reggae ("Don't Worry") and a Johnny Cash-style Christmas song ("God's Special Son") in between. Elsewhere, Tinker succeeds in authentically riffing off Springsteen's "Born To Run" and the Cure's "Friday I'm In Love" in "God's Kingdom Is Here" and the 1 Corinthians 13 exposition "Love Is Patient" respectively which further adds to the overall quality of material found on this collection. To keep things interesting (for him as well as his audience, I should imagine), Tinker occasionally slips into different guises including Full Metal Jacket gunnery sergeant, farmer, pirate and Rasta man - all of which showcase Tinker's dazzling versatility.

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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