Reviewed by Tony May

Now that a new breed of singer/ songwriters have brought their rich skills to contemporary country music, us good ol' boys have found courage to don the stetson and swagger down main street at high noon. Classy cowpokes like Lyle Lovett, Dwight Youkam, etc. all have inspired a cluster of Christian counterparts offering New Country sounds which have progressed from the more "outlaw" orientation of fellow-believers Jerry Arhelger and Dennis Agajanian. Current top gun is Bruce Carroll, whose previous albums rank highly amongst my personal prize trophies.  Bruce's expertise receives creamy support from superstar session men in a line­up worthy of the giants of the genre. The New Grass Revival, remembered for their album with Leon Russell, and for my money the supreme hot pickin' country band, weigh in too.  It's one mouth watering menu for country appreciardos. The ten songs are Christ-centred, whilst relating strongly in a non-escapist way to the gut level realities of streetlife. Some songs are red-dirt and rural, reminiscent of much of John Mellencamp's work, others more smoothed-out and "back porch Sunday afternoon". Yup, make room around the campfire boys, Bruce is on song tonight.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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