Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

I have several problems with this album. The songs are a mix of the Christian, the quasi-Christian and the "spiritual", and the style is terribly old-fashioned, harking back to the Sacred Songs And Solos genre of the 1950s and '60s, with basic keyboard and synth arrangements that sound very cheap. The title track is the old Frankie Laine/Batchelors inspirational opus, and Duncan warbles his way through some more orthodox Christian material, including "My God Is Real", "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", "How Great Thou Art", "It Is No Secret", and "The Holy City". This last one is truly painful to listen to, as Duncan's bland tenor voice has nowhere near the power essential to make a decent fist of it. Also, one of the "spiritual" songs is Chris DeBurgh's "Where Peaceful Waters Flow". I question why this song merits a place here, because it waxes lyrical about romantic love, and says "only love can find the door .. only love can reach the shore to heaven .. in her arms is the only place I know where peaceful waters flow." No acknowledgement of a love outside of ourselves, the "higher love" that Steve Winwood sang about, the redeeming and atoning love of a Saviour; it's down to us to save ourselves, which is not what the Christian gospel message is about at all. Quite apart from that, those who remember the original recording on Chris's album 'The Getaway' will wonder however a good song could sound so drab. There are far better recordings available of all of these songs, so I can think of no reason why I can recommend this.

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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