Rebecca St James - The Ultimate Collection

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It comes as no surprise that an album of Rebecca St James' most popular tracks has appeared. Amongst gold albums, Dove awards and a Grammy award, she has inspired female vocalists of her kind along with the millions who have heard her music. Rebecca's voice stands out in quality above others and it verges on spectacular. The album shows her as an inventive crafter of music and lyrics and provides some excellent arrangements of other artists' songs (such as Matt Redman's "Better Is One Day" and Third Day's "Lord Of All Creation"). Tracks that particularly stand out are the upbeat and catchy "Go And Sin No More", the Europop-esque "Reborn" and the eclectic yet satisfying "Mirror". There are great melodies in almost every track, but the only question is whether a self-proclaimed 'Ultimate Collection' can do her justice. Songs have been taken from their intended environment and lumped together, meaning that the album has lost continuity and context. However, this is still a worthwhile purchase if you've yet to catch up on the pop rock recordings of one of CCM's brightest stars.