Reviewed by Tom Lennie

Must confess I was delighted to be sent this disc to be reviewed for CR as I have long had a passion for contemporary renditions of old hymns. Some of my favourite Christian tracks of all time fall into this category - tunes such as 4Him's "It Is Well" (gorgeous arrangement), David Lyle Morris's simple yet striking take of Fanny Crosby's "All The Way My Saviour Leads Me", and Amy Grant's wispy "Softly And Tenderly" each being amongst them. The essence, of course, is to give the old classics a treatment that does justice to the theme and mood of the lyrics while injecting a certain flavour that makes it stand out above other versions. Mr Millard (lead-singer of American million-selling worship band MercyMe), comes up trumps on this little gem, where he's aided variably by the likes of country star Vince Gill, Derek Webb (once of Caedmon's Call) and the pedal steel sanctified bluesman Robert Randolph. Its beauty lies both in the fact that Bart picks some interesting lesser known hymns as well as fashioned favourites, but more importantly in his adopting a different musical style on virtually every song, resulting in a most creative and pleasurable listening experience. Influences of jazz, country, inspirational and funky blues all make their presence wonderfully felt. Millard's fine vocals seem to easily adapt to each style without any sense of pretension. It really is hard to pick out a favourite as they're all so darned good! But one track that just knocks me out is the minimalist approach to the much-loved "Old Rugged Cross". Bass, slide-guitar and Millard's emotive vocals all combine to create a spell-binding effect. Everyone visiting me in the last few weeks has had to sample its sound, and there's been no note of disapproval yet! This is a wonderful album and I can't wait for Vol 2!

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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