Reviewed by Tony Cummings

I wonder what Nick Page, who recently wrote the book And Now Let's Move Into A Time Of Nonsense in which he complained about modern worship songs "about two-edged swords and anointing oil and lots and lots of sheep", would think of the opener here "All Hail". One of the verses goes "Lift up your heads oh ye gates/You ancient doors welcome him now!/The King of Glory shall come in." For in such a song the essence of Mr Page's critique is laid bare: by taking the images and metaphors indeed the very words of a shepherd boy/King/psalmist, as Steve has done here, one has a lyric which will be all but unintelligible to Joe Punter unaccustomed to the works of King David. All I can say is that Steve puts an excellent melody to Psalm 24. Steve Mitchinson is one of the still growing number of gifted worship leaders working out of the UK's stream of Vineyard churches. In fact, two of these songs, "When You Call My Name" and "Timeless Father" were co-written with one of the international Vineyard movement's most acclaimed songsmiths, Brian Doerksen, and both are excellent. Excellent too are the pop rock accompaniments recorded at Vineyard Centre, Winchester. If your appetite for well played modern worship music hasn't yet been satisfied by the continuing avalanche of album releases, Steve is a talent with much to give the Church.

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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