Abundant Life Ministries - Divine Exchange

Reviewed by Tom Lennie

This is a re-release of Abundant Life's best-selling 2002 recording, combined with a DVD of same live and carefully choreographed event. How much things have changed over the following five years is confirmed by the fact that Gareth Gates was still an innocent and unknown backing vocalist in the Bradford church when 'Divine Exchange' was recorded. While GG and two other backing songsters are credited in the inserts (each with same surname as the senior pastor), the dedicated souls who form the choir and who pour so much into this worship experience get no personal name call. CR's Trevor Kirk said of the original release that the "the material itself isn't strong enough." Indeed, remarkably few of these dozen tracks - all, bar one, written and sung by Lara Martin and/or Mark Stevens - are particularly memorable. That one exception is the disc's highlight - the gentle "I Enter In", penned and tenderly sung by Bethan Scanlon. The video filming and production throughout is, as expected, absolutely top-notch, with frequent shots of band, soloists, choir and participatory audience. This is apparently one of the first Christian music DVDs to have been made in the UK and it contains a host of added features such as interviews with key players (+ producer Neil Costello), and a video sermon by pastor Paul Scanlon. A slick performance for sure (a bit too slick for my liking) and applauded by many. This notwithstanding, I can count a score of worship discs from the past five years that I would rate somewhat higher than this release. And the prolific inclusion of Gareth Gates photos throughout the CD booklet (including one on the front cover) today appears as opportunism.