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Hope
Phatfish
Seven wonders of the modern world:
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the golden tonsils
of Louise Fellingham
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the production, mixing and mastering
skills here displayed |
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the piano playing of Mike Sandeman
as displayed for the first time on a Phatfish album |
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the in-depth provocation of
Phatfish lyrics |
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the relaxed adaptability of
Alan Rose’s guitar-playing |
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the internationally-high quality
of the support acts |
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and, of course, the Christ-likeness
of Luke Fellingham’s appearance |
 Not noted for acoustic restraint, this live &
unplugged selection of Phatfish favourites and some new numbers is surprisingly
powerful, even without the more familiar power chords and glorious energy
of other Phatfish recordings. The band do subtle really rather well, with
Mike’s dancing fingers enhancing everything in sight.
Louise has a flawless voice, full of passion and compassion, and she delivers
these songs with intensity. It's when you hear her alongside Kate Simmonds,
one of the support artists, that you start to realise that they are both
perfect, except Kate is dark chocolate while Louise is a sort of cointreau-white
chocolate medley.
When Louise caresses the lyrics to Your Love,
hairs stand up, nerves tingle and almost everything clenches realising
how exposed and open the sound has become. But Alan is spot-on with the
nice new strings on an acoustic guitar and Lou produces notes of such
quality you wonder just exactly how ‘live’ the album really
can be. But I’m assured it’s a genuine take
-– she really can do this!. She achieves demanding intervals, with
middle-of-the-note accuracy every time. And, just like Phatfish, the song
is a love poem to Jesus, and carries with it the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, drawing the listener into the presence of the Lord whose ‘love
completes me’.
How wonderful to hear River of Life again! And Nathan’s Castaway is a much better song than I first thought, and my first
reaction to it was to be stunned and impressed with the literary references,
the quality of the poetry, the groove and the fresh revelation of the
grace of God the song reflects.
The new number Prayer Song, drawing attention to the orphaned
HIV children who are benefitting from every sale, has one of those melodies
that won’t let go. Louise provides an intensity of intercession
as she delivers full-length notes and spontaneous cries from the heart,
calling on the Father to demonstrate his gentle love to these suffering
ones.
There will be special moments when you want to play this CD; and when
you play this CD, it will create special moments for you.
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