Reviewed by Liz Knowles

From the first few seconds of this CD, I was in deep admiration of Marc Chapman's guitar skills. It's well recorded - live and acoustic, and they say they left the imperfections in. Must have missed that bit! BUT I'm not sure about Chapman's voice. I liked it better in the lower registers, but it wasn't doing much for me. Guest singer Asha, though, is another matter. Chapman writes of her in the sleevenotes: "Oh that voice" - yeah, exactly! The songs are clearly meant for the worship setting. "Simply Worship" (track two) would be great in that context, with a bit of congregational response. For me, the outstanding tracks are "Come Closer" which could take a bit more oomph live; the traditional "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me"; and "Loosen Up Your Chains" which must get everyone grooving in the aisles. Quite hard to believe it's a first album. I would love to hear more Chapman guitar and more Asha vocals, everything else (Hammond, bass, backing vocals) works just fine. Worship songs aren't really my scene, but this one wins on guitar and Asha's voice.

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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