Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Yep, we've got the record label right. America's Hosanna!/lntegrity have finally awoken to the cultural needs/expectations of urban youth, not being reached with slick, middle of the road praise albums and have got together with Britain's New Generation Ministries, the outreach organisation birthed out of the old Heartbeat group, to promote The Great Awakening' which is more than an album, more than a multi-media presentation, but a whole vision to see youth taking up the call and get involved in mission. So what of the music? In many ways this has many of the musical characteristics of the old Heartbeat. The same anthemic choruses exhorting us to expect a wave of revival in the land, the same moves into the world of dance, funky enough to be youth relevant but always a little subdued for full tilt dance floor appeal. The main problem is that the switch of styles from track to track takes away some of the album's cohesiveness. The album has been released in the States and an American trade publication summed up the dilemma neatly: "This British band cuts a wide musical swath - techno, R&B, rave, alternative pop and contemporary worship styles are all surveyed. But this scatter-shot approach shouldn't weaken the album's infectious appeal to the 18-25 crowd." Coming soon in CR, a 65 dBA feature.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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