Innocence Mission have always stayed true to their mission statement, in fact with each new release they seem to explore new horizons of innocence. In what seems an obvious bow to their die-hard fans, husband and wife Don and Karen Peris have offered a pure and simple collection of standard covers. Some may find this recording to be a fairly ho hum affair, Adam wasn't impressed, but to fatal fans such as myself, this is nothing but frosting on the cake.

True these are straight-forward and achingly spare renditions, but what a gorgeous choice of covers, really a dream come true for those of us who believe anything that Karen sings is a timeless classic. The album opens with a lovely ballad that it took my daughters to identify - the sweet lullaby Julie Andrews sang to the kids in Mary Poppins "Stay Awake." It just keeps getting better from there, with "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," Wonderful World," "Moon River" "Edelweiss," it's enough to hurt your teeth. Again these standards are rendered with nothing more than the hauntingly ethereal vocals of Karen, her piano and the acoustic guitar of her husband.

It is true that the album sputters out a bit as it wears on, with less familiar tunes that run toward the spiritual rather than the standard. Still and all, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and this is a gift that is so unpretentious and pure that it seems almost sacred. And Now The Review is Over.