Reviewed by Tom Lennie

Recorded during the Hillsong Conference in November 2010 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia, 'God Is Able' features all new songs (except for "Your Forever" which dates to 2008). An attraction of the set is that you get a full 75 minutes worth of music written and performed by a host of people from the Hillsong axis, not only from the Sydney mega-church, but also from churches throughout the world, including London and Stockholm. So we get tunes written/sung by the likes of Joel Davies, Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan, Sam Knock, Joel Houston and numerous others; not forgetting, of course one Darlene Zschech, who leads on two songs, one of which she wrote. An issue I had was that while the inserts do tell you - in very small print - who the songwriters are, they don't let you know who is performing each track - I had to go elsewhere for that. As for the songs themselves, numerous are in flowing upbeat format, but only a couple truly rock. One or two tracks particularly standout - such as the opening "Rise", "Alive In Us" and the congregationally usable "God Is Able". One or two others are rather bland. Certainly, being able to watch the set on DVD adds a considerable degree of visual appeal, watching the professionalism of the main players and noting the enthusiasm of the vast congregation. A fine, though not an exceptional, recording.

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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