Reviewed by Tony Cummings

There are mountains of poor/average/good albums. There are a handful of essential/brilliant albums. And every now and again there are epoch making albums, song collections that not only abound in musical excellence but have a whiff of the prophetic about them. This is such an album - a collection of praise and worship songs way, way above puny artistic ambitions and dreams, marketing stratagems and Bible week hype. In one play 'Mukti Dil-Aye: He Saves1 convinced me that this is possibly THE most important album released since Cross Rhythms commenced publication. On a factual level it can be briefly described - a fusion of Eastern and Western musics overseen by South Asian Concern, produced by exciting new discovery Martin Smith and featuring a bevy of famed Western musicians including (deep breath) lona percussionist Terl Bryant; Bryn Haworth on slide guitar; woodwind man Dave Fitzgerald; Stuart Townend on keys; chapman stick wizard Nick Beggs and guest vocalists like Kevin Prosch, Helen Burgess and David Grant. But it's the (literally) inspired Asian singers and musicians who give the album its focus and flavour. Never have the haunting ethereal sounds of Hindi worship been better captured than on the small group vocals here. Fusing the cultural elements into musical coherence must have taken a Herculean effort from Martin Smith but his production hand never falters so that tablas fuse with Flemish bagpipes and synths swirl around sitars in unforgettable soundscapes. The material from the beautiful Asian originals like "Mukti Dil-Aye" and "Aavone Saatho Praathnaano Vakhat Chhe" to Ramon Pink's "Jesus Christ Is Lord" and Kevin Prosch's "Come To The Light" is an inspired selection too. In an age where the electronic realities of the global village means that the West is coming alive to different cultures and musics like no other one and where God's Spirit is thrillingly beginning to breathe over a whole continent for so long cloaked in spiritual darkness, here is an album to reflect these truths. Repent of your irrelevant prejudices about 'curry house music' or 'the praise and worship conveyor belt', buy this album and allow it to minister to your heart, mind and soul.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.