Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Some may run but they can't hide from the fact that most of these songs on this two CD 'best of' from America's king of inspirational balladry are highly crafted for the genre they occupy. "We Trust In The Name Of The Lord Our God" has layers, arrangement and texture of the highest quality. The positive message of "He Who Began A Good Work In You" is sung so sweetly it can't help but be an encouragement to those who listen with unbiased hearts. Steve does what he does well; he's sold over three million albums and won six Dove Awards. This is a first-class showcase of his music so far. Not that there aren't any drawbacks: the big beefy snare with a reverb that reaches to the moon and back dates "Find Us Faithful" (it is from 1987, so what can you expect?), also some of the choir type songs belong to a specific period of 80's American inspirational music, which sound decidedly dated now, furthermore the big finale of some of the songs is clichéd and hard to listen to. Nevertheless the strings are rich, the craftsmanship of the musicians is outstanding and the production by Greg Nelson or Brown Bannister or Billy Ray Hearn sounds as if they mean it and want to do the best job possible.

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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