There are few artists in the worship genre who really stand out, and in the past, Brenton Brown proved to be no exception. However, that may have changed with his new release, Adoration.

Adoration (aside from "1000 Stars" and "We Need You") is comprised of remixes of tracks from his previous record, Because of Your Love. At first, this may seem redundant at best, but from the moment listeners begin the first track, "Adoration," to the moment "Wonderful" finishes, it is realized that it was actually a good call. Brown's songs were previously good yet bland, and now, with his clear voice sounding better than ever, these new and improved tracks inject a decent dose of musical personality, something many "pioneers" of the genre lack. Some of the re-released songs possess more subtle changes (such as "Come Let Us Return" and "Wonderful") while others have obviously gone through drastic transformations (such as "Adoration" and "Amazing God"). The only thing that fans might miss are Leeland Mooring's backing vocals on the previous release of the title track, and consequently, the overall sound of the song having much less of an epic vibe to it. The final two tracks are new songs from Brown, and are beautiful additions. While the new mixes are good, "We Need You" and "1000 Stars" provide an even better and inspiring ending.

Brenton Brown is a breath of fresh air in worship music. Between willingly letting other big-name worship leaders cover his songs and inadvertently take credit for them, and providing lead sheets and chord charts for worship leaders in churches to put to good use, he seems like a pretty stand-up guy and talented musician, who is undeservingly still relatively under the radar. Adoration is a refreshing take on his previous work, and for those who already own Because of Your Love, have no fear, it is well worth the purchase of what can safely be called "the new and improved Because of Your Love."

- Review date: 2/21/10, written by Laura Cree of Jesusfreakhideout.com