Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

As featured in the last ish of CR, Paul Middleton is part of the rising scene of American Christian music recorded outside of Nashville. 'Keep The Faith' is definitely a grower and it is definitely not a stomper of a gospel album, it's more subtle than that. A real pot boiler of funky urban sounding rhythms and powerful slow grooves which meet the silkiest of soul voices to great effect. In fact, Paul Middleton has a GREAT voice which sweeps across the octaves. He's also a pretty good songwriter and this is an inventive album with a unique sound. It's the strong drum tracks that give it such a punch with harmonies that are smoothly performed and layered vocal arrangement that are ear catching on songs like "I'm Coming Home" and "Deliver Me". For many tunes, Middleton seems to simply lock into a simple soulful groove and just sing his heart out! An example of that is "Jesus Is Lord" which opens and closes the album. If you check out the long version, you'll find it just isn't long enough! So, if you're in search of funky soul take Paul Middleton's album on high rotation and bliss out.

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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