Reviewed by Tom Rodgers

IN THE MAINSTREAM
Maybe Jonny's appearance on Steven Curtis Chapman's latest will awaken Christian attention to Jonny's output. For our man is a committed believer and a hot guitarist. 2003's 'Long Time Coming' is Lang's third studio release, so named because it comes four years after his previous offering. Gone this time, however, are the blues guitar licks and covers which gave Lang two platinum-selling albums and a Grammy nomination. Instead, Lang takes co-writing credits and his talents are launched into mainly mid-tempo rock, although thankfully this doesn't mean his songs are not inventive, catchy and bustling with ideas. Make no mistake, the boy can still play, although his solos are located within the structure of the songs rather than taking them off in a different direction. Jonny's still-astonishing voice, sounding here battered by the blues vices of whisky and cigarettes (perhaps a result of his endless touring with previous offerings 'Lie To Me' and 'Wander This World'), invests his songs with great emotional punch. Highlights are the pained and almost tearful "Red Light", and the raucously joyful "If We Try", but the best of the lot is the seriously funky "The One I Got", beautifully layered with a thick, chunky bassline which never sounds flabby or overweight.

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