Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

It is amazing to think that the band formed back in 1985 and is still going strong today, albeit with none of the original members. Their output has been consistently of a high quality and 2006's 'Go' was their 12th studio album. The line-up at the time was Peter Furler (vocals and guitar), Paul Colman (guitar), Phillip Joel Urry (bass), Jeff Frankenstein (keyboard) and Duncan Phillips (drums). The style is a mixture of soft rock and synth pop. The songwriting collaboration with Steve Taylor would see the overall theme of 'Go' being evangelism. The most notable example is in "The Mission" with "In the history of our faith's arrivals/Great awakenings, Welsh revivals/Saints and martyrs, summoned by a new birth/Patrick's save of the Irish nation/William Carey's expectation/Lambs and lions/Called to the ends of the earth/Gotta put my hand to the plow/Not looking back, not now". One of the gems on 'Go' was "Your Love Is Better Than Life" with its laconic "I dunno" recitation from Paul Colman. All in all, an excellent Newsboys set. 'Go Remixed' was an American dance version of the album released the following year. Superchick founder Max Hsu altered the arrangements on "Your Love Is Better Than Life" to include a rock guitar intro, classical strings and an infectious dance beat. The clever lyrics still come through, though: "Your love is better than life/Without your love, I'm just a broken machine/Your love is better than life/Without your love, it's all a mindless routine/Your love is better than life/Without your love, I'm in another free fall/Your love is better than life/Without your love, I've got nothing at all". If you don't have these albums, here's an economic way of getting them.

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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