Reviewed by Dave Brassington

This new album by the son of country music icon Ernest Tubb starts with a unique song. "Heartbroken, Forsaken And Alone" was partially written by Hank Williams shortly before he died. By the request of Hank's widow Audrey the unfinished song has now been completed by Glenn. And pretty good it is too. Lyric wise, the album is half mainstream and half gospel, (hence the title) but, in the main, it is the gospel songs which are the stronger material. The standout track for me is "Blame It On Jesus" which put me in mind of Johnny Cash on Sun Records, ie simple truths sung in a voice which is pure country and with a very simple backing. The next track "Listening For The Trumpet" has a very strong lyric but turns out to be a bit of a musical mess in so far that the Jewish rams horn known as a shophar is added (according to the sleeve notes), but to me sounds more like a selected trumpet voice on an electronic keyboard. Glenn has a lived in, hard country voice, and I must admit that I enjoyed the songs and his singing, but, at times, the production by Jim Sales lets the album down. With a better production this album would have been considerably improved.

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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