Hillsong Music Australia - Extravagant Worship: The Songs Of Darlene Zschech

Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

A double CD set containing 23 tracks charting the rise and rise of Australia's best known (and best looking) praise and worship leader and composer. Nearly all of these songs are original cuts lifted from various albums released by Integrity and Hillsong since 1993 and included are all the classics - "Shout To The Lord", "All Things Are Possible", "Let The Peace Of God Reign", "And That My Soul Knows Very Well", "The Potter's Hand" - in fact, so many classics that this album set a precedent on UCB Inspirational recently by being Album Of The Fortnight rather than Album Of The Week. Some may baulk at yet another repackaging of existing Hillsong material; others may be a trifle uneasy that Darlene has become something of a cult figure in Aussie church circles; certainly most of the Hillsong merchandising machine revolves around her. But I digress. If you haven't got any of her music in your collection then this is an ideal purchase, because this is definitely the best of Darlene so far. In another eight years, will there be another 23 Zschech songs to enjoy? Probably. (photo caption) Darlene Zschech