Reviewed by Karl Allison

Another album that defies CR's best attempts at classification, embracing as it does elements of pop, hip hop and R&B. Out Of Eden are three sisters whose ages range from 13 to 18 and they've made a seriously excellent debut. They're presented as child prodigies who've come under the wing of the DC Talk boys. Indeed, the influence is quite considerable. Toby has set up Gotee Records under the Word umbrella and not only signed Out Of Eden as their debut act, but took them on tour as support act on DC Talk's 60 city trek across the States. Toby and Michael Tait also have songwriting credits, so the leg-up is quite considerable, but the girls surely have enough talent to merit all this assistance. The album drips with class: clever but not over-elaborate harmonies built over some very chart-friendly sounding rhythms. The outstanding track is undoubtedly their inspired re-working of the old Bill Withers classic "Lovely Day" which got to No 2 in the US club charts, achieved a rave review in Cross Rhythms as in import single and is easily the best CCM cover version I've heard in years. It's quite a recommendation to say that the other tracks are not overshadowed, particularly "Good Thing" and "Heart Of Hearts" which both sound like singles to me. They sing! They dance! They rap! And they're young enough to get even better.

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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