Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Kyle is, to my ears, one of the most underrated singer/songwriters on the American scene. Sure he had a huge hit with "We Bow Down" but Donnie McClurkin blew it by omitting the verses in his version (you need to search out the Bob Carlisle rendition to get the whole classic song). Here is a whole set of Christmas songs from the Greenville, South Carolina-based songsmith and though there are a couple of instrumentals, there are also plenty of songs here to demonstrate that Christmas songs don't have to be full of wince inducing sentiment. For instance there's "Inconvenient Christmas" where a family's Christmas disasters are demonstrated to fall into insignificance beside a Christmas where God himself was willing to become a baby lying in a squalid stable; "One Of Us" a narrative song depicting a shepherd and a king who receive revelation that God has become one of us; and "Following Christmas" which thoughtfully and eloquently asks whether all the fuss of the Christmas season is worth the trouble. Throughout Kyle's elegant piano accompanies his warm voice while some choice Nashville musos (including John Catching and Jars Of Clay's Stephen Mason on mandolin and guitar) give colour to the arrangements. But it's those inventive lyrics which continually lift this set above the usual Christmas dross. Search it out.

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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