Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

In the mid-'70s, this Scottish band were finalists in a competition run by music paper The Melody Maker to unearth new talent. Their album 'Parable' was unashamedly Christian and completely rock. It's a concept album, verging on the progness of the era and audiences hadn't seen a Christian band rock this hard since the hey day of Out Of Darkness. Recently the album has caught the attention of vinyl collectors as a much sought out item, selling for hundreds of quid! 40 years after the original release, it's now available again, this time on CD. The original first side of the vinyl album featured a suite of songs that retold the story of the prodigal son with original material but also included covers of The Who and Ten Years After that helped the story along. The rhythms section of bassist Dave McRoberts and drummer Alex Smith really propels the band along especially on "Now I Realise". The band's original material stands up well from writing and performance and singer/guitarist Dougie McRoberts acquits himself well. I wish I had seen them live in the '70s because although this captures a flavour of the band, the cheapness of the production (it was recorded in a garage! - original garage band!) cannot be overlooked. At times it all sounds musically proficient but very thin. Covers of John Mayall's blues and Walter Hawkins' gospel songs are well chosen and well executed and like a great deal of '70s underground Christian rock recordings on both sides of the pond, the artefact continues to be interesting, if not perfectly formed.

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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