You may not know the name Lincoln Brewster, but chances are if you go to a church with a modern worship service, you've heard one of his songs. Worship leaders all over the nation have embraced Lincoln Brewster for his accessible lyrics and his instrumental excellence.

With All to You, Lincoln Brewster isn't trying to reshape the modern worship genre, but to provide an atmosphere of worship that listeners can easily enter into. Brewster does just that with a strong mix of original songs and some new worship classics.

All to You opens with "Majestic," an upbeat title that declares "Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth," followed by the Hillsong United song "Everyday." Although "Everyday" continues in the same style as "Majestic," it bears too much resemblance to the original Hillsongs version to really stand out.

With songs like "Everyday," "Surrender," and "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," Lincoln Brewster opts to play the songs as they were written rather than to create a newer version of them. For the most part, this approach works well, but given Brewster's talent, one can't help but wonder if he could have done better. That being said, the highlight of the album is when Lincoln Brewster offers his rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Another Hallelujah." Brewster has rewritten the verses, turning an otherwise depressing song into a passionate declaration of worship.

The album comes to a fitting close with "Let the Praises Ring" and "You Are Good." While Brewster isn't exactly charting new territory in the genre of modern worship, he brings a level of excellence to the genre that is otherwise lacking. For fans of Darrell Evans, Hillsongs, and Chris Tomlin, or anyone looking for a good live worship CD, I recommend Lincoln Brewster's All to You.

- Review date: 8/29/05, written by David Taylor