ELEVATE
Youth Alive NSW
live from Sydney Australia
worship leaders: Kate Spence and Paul Andrew
www.nsw.youthalive.org.au

On June 30, 2001 thousands of teenagers from all denominations across New South Wales united to praise and worship the Creator of the universe. That night a new sound of hope and victory emerged from within the hearts of young people. An army has risen up and is mobilised to take their world for Christ.
It is the sound you hear captured on Elevate. And remember, there is only one way to play a Youth Alive album... LOUD!
     Christine Caine - director Youth Alive NSW

  7.  Here I Am
  8.  Air I Breathe
  9.  To Live is Christ
10.  My Heart is Yours
11.  No Fear
12.  All

Songs :
  1.  All Day
  2.  Now
  3.  Because
  4.  Anthem
  5.  Beautiful
  6.  Adore

$12.95

Add to cart

Songbook on CD-Rom

$10.00

postage paid

Add to cart

  Everything about this excellent CD speaks “ Youth!”  In fact my 17 year old daughter was at the computer when I started blasting this CD out through my 3 foot speakers, it’s the only way to play it!  She heard the third track, “Because,” and immediately hit the repeat button!  “That is a great song for our youth praise band,” she stated. Taken from a young person the age of the audience this was played for, this is the best of accolades. If you have some kids that like wild praise worship, they will enjoy this CD. The first four songs are played at break kneck speed and ferocious intensity, track 4, “Anthem,” is a POD sounding thump to the worship plexus!

  Then the change happens! From this mountain top of emotion, the songs start to wind down as they play upon the softer side of worship. It is done beautifully till we have a soft piano based song at the end,“To live is Christ.” It sometimes feels like two different concerts. But I have found that even though most youth love to jump up and down and scream louder than the stones! They can also, within minutes be found on their knees with hands raised, giving their tears to a Holy God. This is why music like this is so exciting and exhilarating to listen to and imagine the experience of being there!

  I liked this much better than others I have heard from Youth Alive. It seems to be more cohesive and thought out. There appears more of an attempt at not only playing fast but playing efficiently. Witness the intimate passion on “Beautiful,” the beauty of   “Adore.”  This is followed by two love songs for Jesus, although when we get to “Air I breathe,” I felt there should have been an attempt to increase the tempo again. Four similar songs in a row can be hard to keep one’s focus. 

  “No fear,” brings a grinding up through the praise gears, to finish on the superb “All!” It is worth the wait and brings such a feeling of rejoicing and joy to the end of the CD!  The crowd were by now ready to rock! You can hear them cheering and clapping in the background. Make sure you do not miss the end of track 12; simple voices and an acoustic guitar bring this elevation to a blessed conclusion.

Review by Bill Mason

  Situated between Sydney and Brisbane on Australia's New South Wales coast - 'where the mountains meet the sea' - Coffs Harbour is home to the AOG church pastored by Steve & Bev Spence, in which daughter Kate leads worship. This album is the second release from the church; perhaps you could say the second from Ms Spence, as she wrote all songs (bar one) for both albums and provides lead vocals throughout. Kate has also contributed generously to several Youth Alive NSW recordings, including the most recent belter Elevate, having also played in many regions world-wide, including the USA, Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia!

  Musical styles vary on this live recording, though there's an obvious overall likeness in sound to the worshipful charm of Hillsong's Darlene Zschech (and lets face it, who else could the cover photo shot remind you of?!). A funk groove pervades the opening praise track, while the tender beginnings of 'The Earth shall sing' rise into an eminently singable anthem. At the other end of the set 'Isaiah 55', enhanced with triumphant brass overlays, has gotta be the album's strongest track, followed as it is by the closing jamboree of Martin Smith's 'Happy song' (mixed with tones of 'Amazing Grace', this has a great celebratory feel with fine harmonica rhythms from keyboardist Chris Euston). In between these movers lie half a dozen worship ballads offering deep but gentle adoration to the King. These all carry a pleasant, steady worship flow, most touching of which are the acoustic dedication of 'Deeply in love' and 'Swept away's unhurried, whispering emotion.

  Add to the above the soul sensibilities of 'Move' and choral backing here and there, and you have one varied musical hot-bed of a disc! If you're already enamoured with the now familiar mode of live 'down under' worship, then you're gonna be well taken with this output. If you're yet to be won over - then maybe, pretty maybe, this one will do the trick for you! This is a Sound from Heaven.

Review by tom lennie

ROAD TO THE CITY
featuring
Adrian Plass, Mal Pope & Julie Costello
from Gold Records U.K.
www.goldrecords.co.uk

Narrator - Adrian Plass
Lead vocals - Mal Pope and Julie Costello
Keyboards, loops, programming - Mark Edwards
Mandolin, mandola and acoustic guitars - Dave Clifton
Electric guitars - Neil Costello
Saxophone, recorders and flute - David Fitzgerald
Additional drums and percussion - Terl Bryant
Backing vocals - Ian Blythe, Julie Costello, Mal Pope, Carla Hayles,
Carl McGregor, Rachel Bowen, Carol Riley, Velveta Thompson,
David Lyle Morris

Songs:
  1.  The dream - Pilgrim’s Progress
  2.  Miracle of Love
  3.  Once I’ve cleaned this house up
  4.  Father of lights
  5.  The dream of being special
  6.  Saying things to you
       (I’ve never said before)
  7.  I cannot make you love me
  8.  Let Forgiveness break the chain
  9.  A wayside cross - Pilgrim’s Progress
10.  There is a green hill
11.  Joybringer
12.  To be a pilgrim
13.  Your hand will cover mine
14.  Something to look forward to
15.  Carry me away
16.  Caught in your light / A perfect view

Other CDs in the City of Gold Series

$14.95

Add to cart

Road to the City

  A few years back UK's independent Gold Records (as distinct from Gold Records USA!) charmed audiences world-wide with their new City of Gold concept, an artful blending of poetry and inspirational pop sounds centred around impressions of heaven. In similar vein came Shipwrecks & Islands (1999), and now a companion to that first venture, considering life's journey of faith and based once again on John Bunyan's classic 'Pilgrim's Progress'.

  Despite all compositions being new, there's certainly a sense of 'deja vu' - sounds and styles being uncannily similar to the '97 project. Of course, this isn't surprising given that the same writers, singers and instrumentalists are involved. Indeed, this is once again a most attractive package and it's kinda difficult not to fall in love with its endearing sounds. Adrian Plass's spoken verses are everywhere human and charmingly thought-provoking (spiritual but non-religious!); the lush alternate lead vocals of Julie Costello and Mal Pope are quite delectable, and the soft pop shuffle rhythms simply wash over you like gentle waves from heaven. Thoughts and moods meander as the pilgrim makes his adventurous trek of faith, but there's an over-riding focus on the Cross, the heavenly City, and our Father's amazing, unchanging love.

  Favourite tracks - well they're all very pleasant - yet I guess no-one could be classed as totally 'stand-out'. This is the album's only drawback - extremely nice listening, but not really knockout in effect. Still, you won't help yourself liking it, (probably loving it) and, particularly if you haven't tried either of the previous two releases, you're likely to be well impressed with Road to the City!

Review by tom lennie

| Home | New Arrivals | Featured CDs | To Order | Of Interest | Special CDs | Delirious CDs | Order Form |

| Recently Featured CDs | Upcoming | About GoldUSA | Songbooks | CrossRhythms | Search  A-L  M-Z |