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Talk about a bargain - over two hours of Christmas music on 2 CDs (plus bonus DVD) and no sign of Slade anywhere! This collection is an interesting and eclectic mix of traditional Christmas carols, hymns, modern worship songs and instrumentals - everything from 'The Coventry Carol' to 'Light of the World' finds a place somewhere, and this is both a strength and a weakness of the package. A strength because it does not seek to limit its scope to any particular era of Christmas music, and a weakness because not enough is made of the inherent differences between them. Most tracks are recorded in a beautiful, at times haunting, gentle acoustic or traditional choral style which tends to just wash over you without making any real impact. Ideal for background music, not so good for a "worship experience". With a total of 35 tracks to play with, I would have liked to see greater variety in style and tempo giving the whole thing the lift it deserves. The DVD is nice, but inconsequential, featuring three songs accompanied by images of (respectively) a log fire, candles and cloud formations - you could almost be forgiven for thinking you were watching a screensaver. All in all, as a collection of Christmas music for family get-togethers or other festive gatherings, you can't go far wrong - just don't expect anything more interesting than that. 7/10 David Cooper (December 2003)
Here's 2 CD's in one package, featuring a host of "powerful songs of the church today". Certainly, there's a lot of the songs that I've been hearing for the first time, and some of them are really very good. Take, for instance, the songs of Paul Baloche. He really knows how to engage the listener and bring out the full meaning of his songs. "Rise Up And Praise Him" and "In That Day" are just two of his special numbers. Caitlin Evanson provides a peaceful version of "I Love You Lord" while Ross Parsley provides a powerful rendition of "Lord Most High". On the second Cd, Delirious? Kick things off, complete with bagpipes and children's choir, and the anthemic "Shout to the North". Eoghan Heaslip, Mercy Me, and Israel Houghton all provide high moments on a creditable release. 7/10 (January 2004)
When I saw Iain Archer about three years ago I remember marvelling at his guitar playing and wondering about the lyrics. Not that the latter were questionable but that they seemed to be very dis-jointed. This album reveals the same qualities as Iain takes you through love stories and his views of the universe. What you see is what you get with Iain, one man and his guitar. Occasionally, there's a little accompaniment and it's these songs which are the strongest. 'Ancient Drums' is quite catchy and tells us that we must get rid of our own prejudices, while 'All That You Are' describes spiritual blindness. On the down side, there is the monotonous 'Flat Earth' and the bland 'Aching Hearted', where - I think - Iain is ministering to himself. My guess would be that he is a poet at heart, and some of the songs just do not carry over onto disc. 4/10. (March 1997)
As the vocal master of All Star United, Ian Eskelin shot to the forefront of CCM with sharp, infectious lyrics and tunes. Now, on his own, he's back, and it's easy to see just how he's built on that reputation. This time the lyrics are more "in your face" truths like on the title track where he recognizes all of man's failings and that only one can save us. "Shout" is the albums first track, and what a shout it is! It bursts into your ears and leaves you wanting more - a sign of a great song, I think. "Into Your Arms Again" talks of surrendering all to God in a pop style with a catchy hook thrown in, while the single "Taboo" literally screams or your attention. "I Love to Tell the Story" is an acoustic based worship number and has a smattering of Crowded House influences within, but it's another sure fire winner. The down side to this album is that it only lasts for 35 minutes, and I felt a little short changed at the end. But, perhaps, that's a good thing. After all, as any performer may tell you….leave the audience wanting more. 9/10 (December 2004, Album of the Month)
If I hadn't seen the name on the album, I might well have thought that this was the long awaited Cliff Richard gospel album. Ian sounds, uncannily, like Sir Cliff on numerous tracks with the sort of arrangement that was being used 10 years ago. Ian's recordings under the title of the "Psalms" have been condensed into this 'Best of...' release and, for those without the others, it is well worth having. Some people might be disappointed that most of the words have been lifted straight from the Bible, but this is the man's way of making them so accessible. However, Psalm 104 is an example were this idea doesn't work. It's like trying to make the words of an Agatha Christie novel fit the tune of the latest Skunk Anansie single. 17 tracks featured, and I enjoyed most. 8/10. (July 1997)
A change of style for Ian, as he introduces us to his latest release. Of course, you still know that it's him, but he has to be applauded for, musically, moving on. Saying that, the title track is typical Mr White, one guitar and a folky vocal. Co-produced by Chris Eaton, you can pick out the Eaton-pop influences, particularly on "You Lift Me Up" and "Comet". The former moves along at a singalong pace, while the latter is a reflective song of praise. One of my favourites is "The Prison", written for one of the prisoners Ian regularly visits in Perth and, obviously, from the heart. Oh how I wish he hadn't included the opening track. It contains the most infuriating backing lines I've ever had the mis-fortune to hear. Entitled "Deliverance", why on earth is everyone singing "Deliver- er-ance"? Ian, this is dreadful! However, the album does contain the best Christmas song I've heard this year. A simple ditty that has a ring of freshness to it. A Good album. 8/10. (December 1997)
Here's a modern day worship album that takes you on a journey, "to seek His face" and to find "unexplored depths of knowing our glorious Lord". With songs primarily written by Jo Puleston, it's a collection of very gentle and, sometimes, mediocre songs that honestly had me falling asleep. Perhaps I was too tired, perhaps I wasn't in a worshipping frame of mind. There again, perhaps, the songs weren't that good. Of those I did find something in, "O King of love" stands out as the best. There's some excellent guitar work within it, making the vocal of Jo really stand out. However, all too often I found tracks like "At the Foot of the Cross" and "Dreams" being quite pleasant but failing to touch me in any way. The last time I felt like this about an album, the writers invited me to see their youth work first hand. While I don't deny that Icthus Pimilico may be doing a similar fine job, their music rates as bland. 3/10. (May 2003)
It's a long time since I receieved a pure olde worlde folk album. Performed here by Annie & John Bamforth, we have a colection of 16 songs of varying quality and production. Some, such as "Gaudete" and "Lord of the Dance" are well known but most, I 've heard for the first time. The simple backing of acoustic and bass guitars seem to work the best throughout, although Annie's vocals do not always suit. The opening "Crown of Creation" being an immediate example of this, with her voice being either weak or nervous. The second song contains an excellent 12 string guitar, but the words are difficult to pick out. Again, this was something that ran throughout the album and was more of a production fault. "Christ Receive" raises things a little even though it sounds like a chant. "Tree of Life/Light" is the strongest track although the use of distorted guitar(?) does detract from the basic sound. If this all sounds like a negative review, I'm afraid it's because of the production and recording. When I can hear the lyrics, they sound good and some of the tunes are quite catchy. Perhaps, this pre-release copy is not the finished product but, even if it is, there's still promise from a fledgling ministry trying to break free. 5/10. (April 1998)
This live worship album is part of series that "… aims to bring the listener a glimpse of worship from churches around the world", and with that in mind I was really looking forward to listening to it. The musicianship throughout is great, the vocalists, both lead and backing, are excellent and the production (by Johnny Markin who also provides lead vocals on 5 of the 13 tracks) is just about right. However, the overall result is a bit flat. There is nothing here that is new or earth-shattering and, while you get the impression that it would have been great to have been there, it left this listener with a feeling of having heard it all before, even with the unfamiliar songs. Having said that it is not without its highlights, the main one for me being a great version of Paul Baloche's "Open the eyes of my heart" as power ballad rather than all-out rocker, and it is always a pleasure to see the occasional traditional hymn - here we have "When I survey" sung to a traditional Scottish folk melody. Unfortunately these are not enough to rate it higher than "not bad, but nothing special". 6/10 David Cooper (April 2002)
Here it is then, the live, double album from Britain's Iona. Taking tracks from their previous studio releases, and breathing new life into them all. Indeed, in some cases, that is just what they do, especially with the enigmatic "Treasure". The content, as a whole, displays many moods, swinging from high's through lows, and then back again. "Irish Day" is still a fine track but the mournful "I Will Give My Love An Apple" is one to avoid. The instrumental depth and quality of the band is highest on numbers like "Columcille" and the title track. People have raved about the 14 minute version of "When I Survey" but I can't see why. It's a dreadful durge and a poor finish to the album. There's nothing further to say about Iona that you don't know except that Mike Haughton and Terl Bryant were the most approachable guys throughout the recent series of concerts in Hull. 7/10. (August 1997)
Now this was a pleasant surprise. I'd expected Iona to be all swirly strings, breathy chorused vocals and so forth. In effect, something from the school of Clannad. The album does start with swirly noises & stuff, but then the drums kick in and the Celtic riffs & rhythms are given a far more rocky treatment than I expected. True, there are the breathy, floaty vocals, there are the Steve Howe-esque guitar noises, there are the gentle songs you'd expect (mostly in the second half of the album). But the guitar is far more Gary Moore/Joe Satriani than Dave Bilborough. Bits of the album reminded me of Horslips at their peak, bits of All About Eve at their best, the best bits of Riverdance and, of course, of Clannad. The opening tracks are especially good, the songs giving Joanne Hogg's vocals something meaty to soar over, the instrumentals showing that this isn't a singer & backing band but a tight unit. Overall, a very strong album (as you'll have noticed from me comparing it to others "at their best"). 9/10. Paul Ganney. (June 2000)
I first heard this album when it was newly released back in 1990. This is classy music, combining progressive rock, jazz and folk - all with a Celtic flavour, reflecting 'the haunting, timeless atmosphere of the islands of Iona and Lindisfarne'. Here it is remastered for 2004, with eight of the tracks also remixed. Sound quality is excellent - capable of painting a deep and wide sound picture on a good hi-fi system. I did not have an original copy to hand to compare, but cannot recall being so impressed sound-wise first time around - so either the sound system has got better or the re-work has been worthwhile in this respect! Iona's founding father was multi-instrumentalist David Fitzgerald, whose 'God is love' CD I reviewed in these pages a short while back. With Iona however, instrumental tracks are interspersed with the delicious vocals of Joanne Hogg - and these tend to be the best ones, the standouts being 'The island' and 'Dancing on the wall', closely followed by 'Vision of Naran' and 'Iona'. Playing this album made me sample other Iona albums in my collection, and having dipped in and out of 'The book of Kells'(1992), 'Beyond these shores'(1993) and 'Open Sky'(2000) I was reminded of their similarity, tending to consist of many instrumentals with no obvious form or 'progression', commonly in a minor-key. People who like an album to comprise a succession of 'good tunes' will therefore be disappointed, but I feel that everyone else should own at least one Iona album, with this updated re-issue being as good a place to start as any. Overall … 7/10 Dave Deekes. (January 2005)
Just when you think studio worship albums are getting a little
stale and "samey", along comes a gem to yank you up
by the hair. Israel Houghton is a renowned songwriter and worship
leader in the USA, and here he has combined with a collection
of talented musicians and Grammy award winning Producer Tommy
Sims (who has worked with Amy Grant and Kenny Loggins among others)
to produce a powerful follow-up to his Dove award nominated 2001
album New Season. If you like this kind of thing! The album focuses
on a style of music that is very heavily influenced by 70s soul,
with a bit of R&B and jazz thrown in for good measure, and
will leave even the most cynical of hearts feeling a little lighter
after just one listen. Lyrically it is wonderfully worshipful
and Houghton's voice certainly sets the whole thing off beautifully,
but I would give one word of warning. If you like this style (and
I do) this is a rare treat, if not, there is nothing here to convert
you to it. But then I don't suppose that was really the point.
Check it out! 8/10 David Cooper (April 2003)
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