Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Another demonstration that the CCM industry is finally turning from its long time cultural neglect and investing in the roots of Christian music. Dan Smith is a veteran street preacher, singer and harmonica player I first heard a decade back on a long deleted album and whom I thought had been forgotten by all but the bluesofiles until his unexpected appearance on Julie Miller's second album. Now Julie returns the compliment to sing some backups (along with Bryan Duncan - he shares the lead on the rousing opener "God's Radar", and Victoria Williams). There are plenty of other CCM luminaries popping up (Steve Hindalong, John Andrew Schreiner and the late Mark Heard) but the show is quite definitely Reverand Dan's. His hewn-out-of-granite vocals and bluesily compelling harp laying down as timeless a gospel blues groove as you'll ever hear. The album is crammed with joyful, Spirit-inspiring music while the closer; an improvised testimony recorded in one take is one of the most compelling tracks I've heard for years. Don't stay on the surface, dig for the roots peoples.

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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