From the moment you hear the opening riffs and chords on ‘All from You’, you know this album is gonna be something special. It very much picks up where ‘Beautiful’ (2002) left off.

For me, the track that leapt out from the word go was the opener, title same as the album, ‘All from You’ (track 1). Penned by Sam Lane, it’s dripping with raw passion, and has this amazing purity, beauty and power about it, which seems to sum up the vibe of the album as a whole really. The first time I heard an excerpt from it was at the regional worship retreat and it just blew me away. I found myself having quite a profound God encounter just by sitting there listening to it and breathing in God through it.

‘King forever’ (track 2) is equally gob smacking, taking the song to a whole new dimension. I wasn’t that into the song until I got hold of this version! ‘You’re The Love’ (track 3) is incredibly simple lyrically yet it wins you over with its fresh feel and dynamic. I can’t think of many people bar Sam Lane that could sing ‘You’re the sunshine on my face’ with such conviction and avoid it coming across really cheesy and twee!

‘Have mercy’ (track 4) is a really honest and profound song of pleading and repentance, that has a bit of a ‘David psalm’ sort of feel to it. When you hear Sam declaring to God ‘I don’t wanna run from You anymore’, something in your spirit really identifies with that truth.

‘How could I live without You’ (track 5) is written and sung by Carly Orpen, and there’s a kind of majesty combined with a genuine intimacy about the song. You can tell that this girl has a really special relationship with her Father, and that this is her expression of ‘deep calling to deep’. It’s got a unique and distinctive style to it compared to contemporary worship songs that have gone before it, and after a few listens you really come to love it and ‘own’ it yourself too.

The rest of the album has some great moments too. ‘Come to me’ is a ‘cover’ so to speak but the burn band make it sound like it just oozed out of their spiritual pores! There’s an excellent version of ‘So near’ (track 7) with Carly doing the lead, first featured in a very different form on ‘Holy’ (2001).

‘More than a friend’ (track 9) marks a refreshing gear change in the form of a mellow, understated song that could lend itself really well to ministry times. ‘Joy’ (track 10) is raucous and infectious with its drive, rhythm and intensity. Finally, ‘Son shining’ (track 11) and ‘Thank You’ (track 12) are back in classic Sam Lane full on rock mode to finish the album on a high.

Overall, ‘All from You’ is an stirring, inspiring listen which at times paints some fresh colours onto the worship music ‘landscape’, and is all the stronger for it. My personal feeling is that the 1st half of the album is stronger than the 2nd, but that’s really just the difference between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ rather than a wider gap in quality. There aren’t necessarily loads of songs on here that would translate well in your local context, but there are some belters that (thanks to some excellent production from Paul Burton and Tom Mills and some inspired playing and singing from Sam, Carly and the burn band) really get the chance to shine, and that contribute to a standout album for 2006 that really helps to soak you in the presence of God.

You can buy this album from the Vineyard Records UK online here.