Angus McDonell

Are you ready for this? For 94 minutes of electrifying music packed onto two CDs? For songs that set hearts on fire and challenge you to really live the good news of the Gospel? Get ready to Live It!

This compilation draws together 23 tracks from the biggest names in contemporary Catholic music, including Steve Angrisano, Tom Booth, Sarah Hart, Matt Maher, Jesse Manibusan, Ken Canedo and many others. It also introduces fresh music from 12 talented new artists who capture today's spirit and song.

More than any other album on the market, Live It! captures the wide range of musical styles rooted in Catholic spirituality -- which you can experience continuously online via spiritandsong.com. Featuring sweet ballads, edgy rock, folky pop and everything in between, Live It! doesn't compromise substance for style. These songwriters have drawn from Scripture, and the poetry in their own souls, to express the longing, devotion, struggle and joy we all go through on this wild journey called "faith." Highlights include the Daughters of God in a great cover of Carey Landry's "Hail Mary: Gentle Woman" and Val Limar Jansen in a gospel-style rendition of Jaime Cortez's classic "Rain Down."

Don't just stand there. Hear it! Sing it! Live It!

Angus McDonell's debut collection is a testament to the vitality of today's church. Eclectic, vibrant and multicultural, River of Life pulses with energy. The 12 original titles mix jazz and pop-rock styles with world beat, reggae, two-beat country, New Orleans style street beat, and even ska, with brilliant arrangements for trumpet and percussion.

The collection includes a tender song in Spanish written by Tom Booth and two songs Angus co-wrote with Sarah Hart, one of them a reverent ballad in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Four songs are based on psalms, including "We Ever Will Praise You" and "With the Lord There Is Mercy."

Featuring an awesome horn section, Latin rhythms, sensational electric guitar work and lyrics in English, Spanish and Swahili, the title track is a rock anthem reflecting the high energy of today's young Catholics. It's no wonder it was chosen to be the theme song for the 2003 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Houston. The song pleads with Jesus, the true River of Life, to "wash away all that may blind us, wash away all of our sin. Hold us in your arms and guide us that we may follow you again. River of life,...let your graces flow!"