Geraldine Latty - Surprising

Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

Bristol-based Geraldine has been responsible for quite a few songs of worship in the last few years and her albums, particularly those made at The Focusfest event, have been steady sellers. On this new set Geraldine helpfully writes in the CD inlay about the background to each song, both in terms of a biblical reference and how the song came to be written. The lyrics are well crafted, with a depth and sincerity you don't always find in worship songs. My favourites are "Though The Fruit Tree Doesn't Blossom", based on Habakkuk's wonderful prayer that even though all seems to be going badly, "yet will I praise Him" - interestingly Geraldine received the inspiration for this song from a dream, and "First", a celebration of Jesus' being first in eternity, creation and loving us before we loved him. Geraldine has a pleasant, if rather nondescript, voice and the style of the production has an open feel to it that supports her voice and doesn't dominate. Overall the CD seemed to all be on too much of an even keel and her vocals don't seem to vary much in timbre and expression. It didn't really satisfy as an album, seeming to be more a resource for finding new worship songs.