Review

There is certainly no shortage of instrumental worship CDs to choose from these days. There is something out there for everyone, regardless of musical taste. But Im willing to bet that few are as uniquely beautiful and uplifting as Rivers of Living Water, the second CD in the Ancient Paths series from WorldView Media Group. One notable thing about this group of musicians, composers, arrangers, artist and technicians is that they prefer to remain nameless which is their act of lifting up the Name above all names. As a result you will not find any credits or personnel listings anywhere on this CD.

If youre one of the many people who have had the pleasure of listening to the first Ancient Paths CD, the first thing youll notice about Rivers of Living Water is that the central instrument is now the guitar instead of the piano. From a purely musical point of view, this CD bears the all the marks of a great instrumental CD. It showcases some impressive musicianship from the writing and arranging to the performing of the instruments. Supporting the tasteful but exciting acoustic guitar work is an ensemble of cello, violin, oboe, and french horns, all beautifully arranged to convey a feeling of serenity and majesty. Some of the best moments on this disc occur as the guitar begins to riff on a pattern and the rest of the instruments play around the guitar in a dance of pure worship.

While some instrumental CDs can be just plain uninteresting, Rivers of Living Water is an impressive display of musical space and color. However, it still possesses that one quality found in any good CD that is designed to create atmosphere it can be ignored as it plays in the background just as easily as it can hold the interest of the conscience listener.

As a prayer/devotional time CD, Rivers of Living Water really won me over with its organic approach to the quiet times with God. I own stacks of intercession CDs that strive to recreate a heavenly atmosphere through swirling choir sounds and ethereal synthesizer pads, all in a worthy attempt to give the listener a sense of being in the throne room of God. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach, it is the abundance of these heavenly sounding CDs that make Rivers of Living Water so unique. When you listen to this CD youre reminded that God the Creator wants to meet with His people in the here and now and that He is present in every one of our daily tasks. Even the arrangements and instrumentation reflect this unsung truth of Gods desire. For instance, in college I was taught that french horns often represent nature and the outdoors which is why I love that they are included as part of the ensemble on this CD. When you listen to them play out in the context of this CD, its as if they are majestically signaling that the God of creation is near and waiting to fellowship with His creation.

Overall, the songs on this CD are calm, reflective and very worshipful. Each track is unique in its own way yet the songs share enough of the same elements to come together and form a complete worship and listening experience. I cant say enough good things about Rivers of Living Water. I strongly encourage you to listen to the sound clips on the CDs web page and hear for yourself just how truly special this CD is. It will still you, it will refresh you and most importantly it is a reminder that we are able to fellowship with God even during the daily experiences of life.

Review by Jeremy Dunn