Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Big Chris & D'Bare Bones Band is the brainchild of Tennessee-based all-rounder Chris Dickens who valiantly takes on the vocal, guitar and bass duties in this self-penned collection of sanctified blues numbers. Recorded mostly on distorted cigar box guitar, this is a rough and ready piece of work that doesn't take any prisoners with the slide-festooned opener "Life's Just Bad" doing exactly what it says on the tin whilst Dickens challenges the listener to get right with God in the title track in straight from the shoulder fashion. Elsewhere, Chris refuses to shirk difficult themes with the subject of child abuse being covered with devastating starkness and bravery in "Daddy's Little Girl" and "Girl In The Window" before a new take on the David and Goliath story is offered up in "Giant". On the whole, this album is pretty upfront and unsubtle about matters of faith but throwaway numbers such as "Walmart Blues" - an ode to supermarket queuing - and the self-explanatory song of aggression "Punch In The Face" tend to distract from the worthy message found on the rest of the album. Nonetheless, the gritty quality of Dicken's vocal performance and guitar work make for a satisfying listen with the thundering "Bound For A Throne" - essentially Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" adapted to tell the story of Jesus' early life - being the undoubted highlight.

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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