Reviewed by Rick Gregory

They say wine gets better with age and this can certainly be said about the 58 year old vocalist. The sound of Christian rock stalwarts Petra although slightly gentler on the ear lives on in this well produced album. John's individual style and sound has been gracing the airwaves for over 30 years now but they show no sign of tiring. If you were a Petra hard liner then 'The Grafting' may sound a little tame but if you like the soft rock/pop sound then it's a treat. The opening track "Stand" is one of the rockier numbers but is a good opener and sets the pace for what follows. Lyrically things haven't changed too much since Petra were rocking to 'Beyond Belief' in the early '90s with plenty of direct declarations of faith and exhortations to walk the walk. The title track is a story set to music about being grafted into a loving family. And pretty catchy it is too. As well as the punchy pop rockers this set offers some gentler songs with acoustic guitar on "Fist Song" and keyboards on "Carry On". There is also an excellent version of "Lord Have Mercy". Overall, 'The Grafting' is quality American soft rock though missing the edge of the Petra classics of old.

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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