Reviewed by Dave Brassington

A West Country-based singer, Zander Walker has released two albums this year and 'Incredible Presence' reminded me, at least, of Kenny Rogers in his prime. Stylistically Zander is hard to categorise. Though his backing is very middle of the road, one ponders whether he is pop or country or a fine ballad singer whose music takes in both styles. The songs here can best be described as heartfelt Christian ballads full of deep meaning, like the strong title track. "Perfect Storm" is another powerful number, but overall I found the album to be a bit samey; it would have been considerably better with a couple of faster paced tracks. Although this is not the first time I have come across an album where all the songs have been written by the producer, in this case John Pugsley, this is something I feel must be musically limiting and rather restricting for the artist. However these are NOT bad songs. In fact I would think that an evening of testimony and song with this singer who has such a powerful voice could in fact be quite an experience, as evidenced by the powerful "A Little Of Your Light". All in all, Mr Walker is an artist to keep an eye out for, he has strong vocal talent, but just needs a little bit more in the way of musical direction.

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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