Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

At last a Christmas album that actually celebrates the fact that the arrival of the Son Of God on earth is as unlikely as a fat cat landlord taking up residency in one of his tenement slums. 'A Strange Way To Save The World' indeed and Fred captures the wonder of Christmas both lyrically and musically with the creativity we have come to expect from one of gospel music's most talented exponents. There're loads of good stuff here! My favourite is the title track, a gentle ballad with intertwining vocals and a sublime groove that deserves to become a Christmas classic. The wonder of Christmas isn't that snuggly feeling of togetherness where everyone's nice to each other for a couple of days which is often churned out in the sugary releases of others. Instead it's the sense of wonder at what God did in starting the process of our salvation. Fred has perfectly captured that with songs about the Christmas story that point further down the road to the cross. Musically, it's all sung by Fred and you even get to sample the delights of his bass playing. New songs, new sounds and an album of delights. Even the more sentimental songs about the festive season are delivered with plenty of soul and not a sleigh bell in sight!

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