Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

An album originally released in 2002 of American kids' music entitled 'Good Shepherd' is enough to make anyone feel sheepish - however, I was pleasantly surprised when I finally shoved this in the CD player. Rob Evans, aka The Donut Man, has a reasonable track record in this genre, as far as I know he's not currently wanted in any international jurisdictions for crimes against music, and by and large this album lobs along very cheerfully. Some songs I recognised from the old Hosanna! days of the late 1980s ("Rejoice In The Lord" by Russell Lowe and Gerrit Gustafson and Don Moen's "I Was Glad" medley-ised in country style as of yore), and despite some rather cringeworthy moments (usually the spoken bits between songs, which grate), the kids sing more or less in tune more or less all of the time. Rob's voice never was the best in the world (rather like our own kids' music maestro Ishmael), but the songs teach Biblical truth, drawing on Psalm 23, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, David and Goliath and of course Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It's not a Grammy winner by any means, but it's not as awful as it could have been.

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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