Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

With the late Nina Simone as his great-aunt, it's no surprise that music is in Jaye Thomas' blood! Jaye uses his musical gifts both to lead worship at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and to train and raise up prophetic worshippers. Since 2008 he has appeared on more than 20 albums for others, but it's taken many years to produce this, recorded live during the IHOP KC annual OneThing conference in 2012 and 2013 along with gospel ensemble, The Cry. The opening devotional prayer sets a tone of humble reverence, segueing into a passionate invitation, "O Come, Let Us Adore Him", which again segues into a rousing rendition of Michael W Smith's "Agnus Dei". The songs subsequently flow through a desire for purity based on Jude 1:24 ("Clean"), declaration of the Lord's holiness ("Holy Is The Lord") and a request to "Fill Me" with glory. The highlight for me is "How Long/Praise Adonai", which begins in the style of a biblical lament, "How long until you come to Jerusalem?", then ramps up to a victorious declaration of Jesus' supremacy as lion and lamb seated on the throne of Heaven being praised, ending with the cry, "This is the heartbeat of heaven/This is the cry of the nations/We hear the Spirit and we are the bride saying 'Come, Lord Jesus!'." Jaye has a warm, rich voice that blends very smoothly with the vocal harmonies of The Cry, and the musicianship is both flawless and sensitive to the flow of the songs. Overall, an excellent release. The only shame is that it doesn't stop after the medley of Keith Green's "O Lord, You're Beautiful" and "Let Me See Your Face"; this would have been a perfect note to end on, but there is a two minute, repetitive "We Won't Stop" that really adds nothing to the CD.

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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