Review

This past summer I was fortunate enough to attend several Worship conferences around the country. While at these conferences, I was able to make the acquaintance of many worship leaders and recording artists. As a local worship leader I love talking shop with other song writers and leaders. The most refreshing of these encounters is when I talk to recording artists who have CDs that are distributed nationally but still consider their job as a local worship leader back home just as important, or more important, than being a national worship artist. Mark Roach is one of those worship leaders. His new CD "Every Reason Why" has been released on the recently revived "Myrrh" record label and he still retains his position as a worship leader at his home church in O'Fallon, Missouri.

Mark's respect for the importance of serving in the local church comes through in the songs on "Every Reason Why". This isn't a collection of radio friendly songs only. Mark has struck a balance of creating a pop-worship listening experience while offering songs that I believe many congregations would enjoy singing on Sunday morning. The congregational simplicity and accessibility of the actual songs have not been sacrificed for production quality or radio listenability. (Though the CD does in fact have high, glossy production, thanks to producer Nathan Nockels.)

There are really two ways to approach "Every Reason Why"; as a recording and as a collection of songs. As a recording, I personally think that more imagination could have been used in arranging and recording the songs. The CD as a whole seems to lack sonic adventure causing it to blend in with the so many other CDs with this modern worship studio sound. However, Mark's vocals sound great and he does a great job of vocally conveying the sentiment of each song. As a collection of songs, "Every Reason Why" is very solid. It is apparent that care was taken to craft these songs for congregational use. The CD becomes even more valuable as a resource with its enhanced features including access to lyric files, chord charts and instructional videos. "Every Reason Why" is a fantastic collection of songs that is definitely worth checking out.

Review by Jeremy Dunn