Reviewed by Andy Long

Not so much a "best of" as an "everything of" compilation from London's hard working heavy blues-rockers, this contains all their studio recordings, that is, all of 'Odd One Out', 'Huds Continental' and 'In Times Of Rain' plus three previously unreleased songs. "Half My Life" and "The Night Of The Storm" are both rockers and "Bleeding For You" is a mellow jazz/blues thing with a touch of Claptonesque guitar. It is Simon Law's guitar work that gives Fresh Claim the edge, he is firmly rooted in the Kossoff/Page school of riff building and blues scale lead work. The band occasionally betray a hint of funk and reggae in songs like "Love And Rockets" or "Brother In Need" and there are some mellow moments such as "A Choice of Shadows", but they are most at home playing those out-and-out rockers with Zeppelin style riffs like "Huds Continental" and my personal favourite "Paris Airshow". This tape is an excellent introduction to the band who Cross Rhythms once called "Surely the most underrated Christian band in Britain" (but it's not really fair to quote that as I wrote it myself!).

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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