Reviewed by Alex Figgis

Cornerstone...not the company/church that prints Cross Rhythms; not the JPUSA publication; not America's premiere Christian alternative music festival; not even the alternative Australian rock band reviewed in CR46. This Cornerstone hail from Sweden and consist of Kent Franklin (lead vox/guitar/harmonica), Mick Nordstrom (drums/BGVs), Mattias Holm (guitar) and Samuel Gustafsson (bass). These guys have been playing blues tinged hard rock for some time (Cross Rhythms reviewed a US compilation album 'ACM Journal: 3rd Anniversary Compilation', which featured a track by the band some five years ago). So what about this album? Well, 'Jesus Rode A Harley Too' displays some tight musicianship, well executed music and a whole lot of '70s sensibilities. I certainly detect a Deep Purple/Led Zeppelin influence coming through the mix; but thankfully no obvious attempt at duplication is made. Whilst promising, there is nothing here that particularly grabs my attention, save the band's cool rendition of Blind Willie Johnson's classic "Jesus Is Coming Soon" and the awe-some "Blues Town Jam" which closes the album. Lyrically, 'Jesus Rides A Harley Too' exhorts and encourages the listener to taste and see that the Lord is indeed good; although the title cut makes little sense. Kent's vocal delivery is gritty and passionate throughout but does little to draw attention to itself, resulting in a slight tendency to ramble aimlessly. All in all, a good album for those who like psychedelic influenced '90s hard rock with a distinctive blues flavour.

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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