Reviewed by Dave Brassington

In case you didn't know, Live Issue are Northern Ireland's most popular country gospel group and in Colin Elliott they have an excellent lead singer with Roy Dreaning occasionally also singing lead. With a variety of country instrumentation including acoustic, electric and rhythm guitars, piano, harmonica, steel guitar, dobro and drums, the material here will be familiar to staunch country gospel fans but is deftly executed by Live Issue. Such songs as the old Don Reno and Red Smiley bluegrass gospel "I'm Using My Bible For A Roadmap", the Johnny Cash country chart topper "Daddy Sang Bass" penned by Carl Perkins, the very catchy "He Went To The Cross Loving You" from the Statler Brothers and "Till The Rivers All Run Dry" which is a Don Williams hit I would not have previously thought of as a gospel piece, the song selection is excellent. The last track here, "House Of Gold", is, in my opinion, the best song that country giant Hank Williams ever wrote. Intriguingly, Live Issue have added some additional lyrics to give it possibly some more cutting edge as far as live appearances are concerned, although such liberties might grate on a Hank Williams purist. "Letter From God" is a song that the group discovered at a live event they hosted in Nashville last year, and here we have a fine solo rendition from Laura Dowey for whom big things are now being predicted. All in all, an impressive set from the highly talented veterans.

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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