Louder Than The Music

When I mentioned to some of my older friends that I had been given a three CD 25th Anniversary Mission Praise album to review, I had two responses. One was of sheer fear and I'm sure most of those people ran away to hide behind their sofas until I had left their house, and the other response was of sheer delight of remembrance of the good old days, and how they don't make songs like they used to. Many churches still use Mission Praise songbook in their times of worship to encounter God.

This album contains 50 songs & hymns from the last 25 years of Church worship and is being released to accompany the 25th Anniversary edition songbook. As the press release says "It truly is the best of the old and the best of the new". But is it?

These CDs are a real history line of songs that have impacted the church over the years, the first CD starts 25 years ago and goes all the way through to the third CD with tracks that are now impacting the church worldwide.

Most of the songs over the CD's are from their original recordings so you can see how much the quality in Christian recording has changed. But what surprised me was how much the style of worship has changed in 25 years; I suppose you could say the same about the secular music world. But what is wonderful is seeing how the heart of Worship has never changed. A wonderful selection of different songs that everyone can enjoy.

I was a bit scared of reviewing this album as I really didn't know what to expect, but thankfully this a great collection of 25 years of Christian music, there are some cringe worthy moments of course when you look back. It's the same feeling you get when you look back at pictures from 25 years ago of yourself in what were fashionable clothes back then. Sometimes it's not pretty, but overall an enjoyable collection.

Review by Jono Davies

LTTM Rating 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
The Splendor of the King
Strength Will Rise
Blessed Be Your Name