Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

A 2004 album from the well known Vineyard man, this is a reflective and largely gentle collection of songs written by Scott over a 20 year period. The theme woven through them is that "God's love, mercy and grace will follow me all the days of my life." There's a beautiful simplicity in the lyrics that is strongly reminiscent of the Psalms. For example, "There is a river whose streams satisfy the holy places of the Lord most high/And though nations rage and kingdoms fall, when his voice is raised he melts them all" and "I never dreamed that he would desire me." There's an absolute gem tucked away in the middle in the form of "You Need God", a song based on stories Scott heard of tough life experiences in Oklahoma. Through the seeming hopelessness of the story the refrain comes through "You need God, you need his Son/Life's too short and hell ain't no fun/You need God, you need his Son 'cause you can't go back when your days are done." Stylistically the CD strongly reminds me of The Blue Nile, although less melancholic (that's not hard!) and the instrumentation is simple and spacious. There is such a feeling of the presence of the Lord in these songs that you can't help your heart being turned to worship and the last words perhaps sum up the whole tone of the CD - "Lord, I'm forever yours." I recommend you search out this timeless set.

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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