Reviewed by A T Bradford

Provident Label Group have trawled today's music scene looking for artists who have brought something new to time-honoured hymns. And it's not just the melody, lyrics too have been re-worked. For example, "The things of earth shall grow strangely dim" ("Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus") becomes "I wanna grow dim standing next to him" to which Nichole Nordeman's vocals bring a true depth of sincerity. "All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name'' benefits from Ben Phillips' lively percussion punctuated by Christopher Stevens and Michael Smith on keys, while "I Surrender All" features some fine finger-picking guitar complimented by Casting Crowns' Megan Garrett with a beautiful female vocal line. Not all the re-arrangements are necessarily successful; the frequent pauses in "Holy Holy Holy" may distract the listener and undermine the song's majesty. But on the whole the collection succeeds, carried largely by the quality of the production and reverent vocal tones, notably Kari Jobe ("Be Still My Soul"). Well worth a listen, if only for Nashville-born Grammy-nominated artist Brandon Heath's "It Is Well." The original composers' feet must surely be tapping in Heaven's grandstand.

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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