Reviewed by Andy Long

The element that jumps out at your average CCM fan here is the following sentence printed on the inlay card - "produced and engineered by Norman Barratt". Yes, the old Gretsch-totinq veteran has come out of hiding to do the knob twiddling for this young band and a very fine job he's made of it too. The mix is very polished and his influence can be seen in the squealing intro and solo of 'Rejection", a very rocky number on an otherwise mellow album. I was torn between classifying this as soft pop or 'The Gospel" has a Duane Eddy acoustic twang to it and Bobs Story is obviously a country narrative. But generally Azusa Street sits firmly on the mellow fence. All the material is worship-orientated, no big issues here. A more imaginative lyricist would be an asset, but otherwise a pleasant 40 minutes.

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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