Reviewed by Anthony Longville

If you take two Jesus music legends with a combined recording career in excess
of 80 years then it doesn't sound like the recipe for a ground breaking release,
destined to bend the musical boundaries. And indeed, there are few musical
surprises here. But as a warm and nostalgic celebration of largely uptempo rock
and roll with a decidedly retro feel and which gives vent to Keaggy's well known
Beatles obsession, this works well. Keaggy and Stonehill worked together on
Keaggy's 1988 release 'Sunday's Child' a recording which used 1960s mono
recording techniques. The link is made here as the title track of that album - a Phil
and Randy composition - is encored here. The album certainly showcases
Keaggy's unmistakeable guitar prowess on tracks like "Rockin' In A Hard Place"
and the Cream-like "Dreamspeak" (Strange Brew anyone?) where Phil does an
Eric. There's humour as well - as you would expect from our Randy. Stonehill raps
his way through "Rockman" over Keaggy's funky guitar backbeat in a song which is bound to divide opinion (nonsense or genius?). To be fair the rap is pretty effectively executed! Add the catchy quirkiness of "Backwards On Her Bike" and you have a recipe for success. Where there is a spiritual message in the lyrics, it is not in any way heavy, and throughout the words are well crafted with a light touch. If you want to hear two quality veterans who still have plenty of creative fire left in their tanks then get your bank card out and order a copy.

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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