‘Cutting Edge 2’ by The Cutting Edge Band (Delirious?)

Released one year later than it’s predecessor, Cutting Edge 2 has some major stylistic differences. Though it remains, largely, a very accessible worship album, there’s more variety within these six tracks, and the beginning of a shift towards arrangement and performance being more developed. ‘The Prophet Song’ and ‘Lead Me’ are unmistakeably worship songs, but would be difficult to sing in a church. ‘The Happy Song’ would work in certain contexts (it did the rounds at Soul Survivor for a few years), but it would be a brave worship leader who attempted it at home (I think I did, once or twice, but I was learning…) Even ‘King Of Love’, in all its simplicity, would be a little to personal to sing in a group. ‘I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever’ is the only track from CE2 to make any kind of a ‘Thank You For Saving Me’ type impact, and it can still be heard in churches today from time to time. ‘Coming Back’, by contrast, was their most mainstream-aimed song yet. I don’t think the band had any secular ambitions at this point (the band still weren’t even a fully formed unit), but this was definitely pointing the way.

Instrumentally, the album followed the template set by the first. It’s largely a mix of acoustic guitar and piano. The addition of Stuart Garrard to the line-up means the electric guitar plays a more prominent role throughout the collection, but only in a supporting role. By Cutting Edge 3, there would a fundamental shift of balance in this direction…