Reviewed by John Daniels

Shane Rootes' full time music ministry has until now centred on children's work (he's the band director for Jim Bailey And The Kingdom Kids and leader of the Road Gang). With this his first solo album, he moves up the age range, with a collection of seven contrasting tracks, perhaps aimed at a youth audience, but more easily reaching the 30 somethings. In fact, adult contemporary would be a good classification and nothing is more contemporary than the National Lottery, the first time I've heard it mentioned in song, in the blistering start to side two "When Your Numbers Up". Other noteworthy tracks are "Do You Have The Eyes To See", a folk/rock composition reminiscent of Gerry Rafferty and the reflective "Prodigal Son" with its nod to Phil Collins. But for me the standout track is "Amazes Me" and what does amaze me is that apart from Simon Moxham's saxophoney and Andy Crawley's contributions on "Love Lane", all the composition and performance is by Shane Rootes himself. A promising debut. Will there be more in the future? In our house we certainly hope so.

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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