Reviewed by Alex Figgis

In recent years, The Strand has been made into a Christian music 'club' - playing host to a number of artists such as Mortal, Sixpence None The Richer and LSU to name but a few.  'Live At The Strand' aims to capture some of the 'vibe' obviously appreciated by those fortunate enough to have ever set foot therein.  For those poor souls who have failed to experience the event, we're left with an albeit brief and limited insight.  As live albums go, this in not all that bad.  Out of the 11 bands captured on disc (namely Age Of Faith, Third Day, Mortal, Sunday's Child, Prayer Chain, Dear Ephesus, My Friend Stephanie, Squad Five-O, New Jerusalem, LSU and Metropolitan), only a handful stand out.  Squad Five-O give a superb - albeit brief - appearance with the medley "The Kids Today/NRA".  Third Day actively demonstrate their musical prowess as they deliver a medley consisting of two U2 numbers ("Can't Help Falling In Love" and "With Or Without You"), coupled with the classic hymn "Turn Your Eyes On Jesus"; and Mortal deliver an interesting and compelling acoustic rendition of "June First".  There are a few songs, however, that somewhat mar the album.  LSU deliver a dreadful 'alternative mix' of "Rocket And A Bomb"; Metropolitan, for some reason best known to themselves, offer a questionable rendition of AC/DC's "Back In Black" (where Alex Johns' delivery painfully mimics that of Brian Johnston); and New Jerusalem, whilst sonically both tight and intense, come painfully close to wounding like Led Zeppelin - and fail miserably.  When all is said and done, 'Live At The Strand' is good but should be handled with care.

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