Reviewed by Mark Goodge

Considering his large US following, I came to this expecting it to be pretty good. Clay has been through some rather tough times lately and he refers to this in the sleevenotes where he recounts how he fell away and was restored back to faith. You'd expect, then, that the music should display some of that pain and passion - and one of the tracks, "98", is indeed a testimony of his time of healing. But the album as a whole is just too bland for my taste. Some of the lyrics hint at a real depth, but most of the time the music simply trips along in standard American CCM rock/pop mode, and to be honest I can't recall any songs that really stand out. This isn't a bad album - maybe I'm being over-harsh, possibly due to unfulfilled expectations - and, of course, the production and musicianship is well up to scratch, as you'd expect from the slick backroom team. But I wouldn't go out and buy it for myself - one for the Clay Crosse fans only, I'd say.

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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