Reviewed by Tony Cummings

As we've already had 'The Passion Of The Christ' soundtrack and 'Songs Inspired By The Passion Of The Christ', the impact and sales of this album are bound to be affected which is a great shame as this is a magnificent collection of recordings inspired by that heart-stopping movie. There's plenty here to stir even those who haven't seen Mel Gibson's film with the opening anthemic "I See Love" with Third Day, Steven Curtis Chapman and MercyMe fighting it out for the vocal mic to the closer "Reason I Live" by the Creed-like Big Dismal. P.O.D. do their soaringly moody stuff on "Truly Amazing", Lauryn Hill shows exceptional elegance on "The Passion" while Kirk Franklin & Yolanda Adams and BeBe Winans & Angie Stone both put in plenty of soul power with back-to-church duets. On the down side Charlotte Church seems out of place on this compilation but the haunting country of Brad Paisley & Sara Evans works well. But the piece de resistance is Scott Stapp's magnificent "Relearn Love", as moving a declaration of faith as you'll hear this or any year. Every bit as impassioned as anything he recorded with Creed this deserves huge exposure. We can but hope it gets it.

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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