Just like students donned in their uniforms parading in the morning assembly, worship songs today seamlessly flow one into another with a universal sameness in our Sunday morning services.  There is nothing wrong with consistency if the congregation is monolithic in their styles of worship and preferences.  But the problem is not that everyone in a typical church is into the overblown stadium filling anthems and soaring highly emotional ballads. There are some who find solace in the contemplative hymn while others who have been raised with a southern drawl like a high quotient of the twang factor in their praise.  Often modern worship teams are too callous to embrace such diverse nuances into their songs.  As a result, many of our modern songs are like so uniformed that you really cannot tell the difference between one from another.  This is where All Sons and Daughters' "Live" has such vital place in today's worship music.  Comprising of Leslie Ann Jordan (on vocals and guitar) and David Leonard (on vocals and piano), they have much to teach us about bringing an organic diversity (in incorporating elements of folk, jazz, country, Celtic and hymns) in their worship.

"Live" as the titular suggests is a live recording of All Sons and Daughters singing their worship favorites at Oceanway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.  However, unlike most live recordings, the participation of the audience is restraint and subdued.  Save for some underwhelming clapping at the end of songs, you wouldn't even realized this is a live recording.  Of these thirteen cuts, eleven are garnered from three of their previously released EPs and their only one studio album "Season One."  This means that two new cuts were written specifically for this project.  Just like their preceding disc "Season One," "Live" is also produced by Paul Mabury (Darlene Zschech, Hillsong and Brandon Heath). Credit needs to be given to Mabury:  instead of enforcing the same worship blueprint he has had for Darlene Zschech or Hillsong, Mabury has decided to toss any template off the window.  Rather, each track has been given a lease of life of its own allowing each to branch off organically in various directions as the song develops.

Some of their best known recordings are represented here.  A song that has gone viral among fans is the folk-like ballad "Brokenness Aside" taken from their debut EP of the same title.  It's easy to see the mass appeal of "Brokenness Aside" as it articulates our universal feeling of feeling unworthy before God expressed in a heartfelt candor.  Gears shift with "Oh How I Need You" which has a campfire rustic feel as the backings are kept to its minimum with Jordan and Leonard singing in matching harmonies.  Borrowing some Celtic vibe from the Gettys, "My God My King" has the traditional hymn-like structure married with some post-modern melodic angular changes.  This is just a fine specimen of where the old and the new collide cementing the fact that it is possible to be reverent yet staying fresh and up to date.  Calling to mind Hillsong's Brooke Fraser who is known for her off-kilter piercing lyrics, the words of "Call Me Higher" is food for thought as Jordan challenges us not to be lethargic when it comes to working for God's kingdom.

Two new songs are thrown into the mix; both of them are co-written with contemporary Christian music most ubiquitous writer Jason Ingram.  "Great Are You Lord" is a pretty average stately piano and strings ballad, here finding Leonard handling most of the vocals.  Much better is the Christmasy-themed Jordan-led "God with Us;" this song has an English waltz lilt that makes you want to dance before the Almighty God. Also, of note is the album closer:  woving the duo's original "Your Glory" with the hymn "Nothing But the Blood," this medley is what Hillsong would die for.  Of all the copious worship bands out there, there is something different about All Sons and Daughters.  They are a gracious duo who not only took time to enrich their worship with nuances of various stripes, but they come across as organic, embracing and so heartfelt.