Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Allen's particular brand of country crooning has been heavily criticised before in Cross Rhythms so I approached this, Allen's second Christmas release, with no enthusiasm whatsoever. As it turned out the album contains a gem of a song "I Pray" written by Sharon and Stuart Thorn. In his sleevenote Allen movingly writes about Sharon who died in a car crash in 2009 and certainly the stark simplicity of Sharon's song ("I pray. . . for faith to nourish hungry souls and heal their troubled souls") hits home. Not all the songs here are of that standard, in fact the opening title track is as sentimental and clichéd a piece of Christmas gloop you're likely to encounter this Yuletide. But "I Pray" and another folksy item written by the Thorns "Little Hometown At Christmas" stop this from slipping to the bottom of the Christmas pile.

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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