Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

I really have to admire people who go for it and produce music on their own label. There is no doubt about the commitment and effort that goes into a pro­ject like this. The question is - is it going to pay off? Will people listen? Will it get a good review to give it a good start? Let's look at the three songs first. "The Big Picture" I like. It's a gentle track that moves along nicely. There's a catchy hook to it, and some punchy brass popping in and out. "This Christmastime" has a reggae feel, quite a catchy tune and a message to point to Jesus. The third track "Watersmeet" is probably my favourite and starts off sounding as though it could be Van Morrison, with some beautiful piano. Sadly the rest of the song doesn't quite live up to the promise of the introduction. What lets all three tracks down, I'm afraid, is the vocal. The songs are okay (not brilliant, but okay), the playing is fine if a little old-fashioned at times, but in the end the vocal is just not distinctive enough. It will stand most chance with a Radio 2 audience, but to my ears there's not quite enough here to make it a success.

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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