Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

If you enjoyed Michael's Greenbelt 07 appearance and decided to check out his back catalogue recorded before he became a Christian you'll enjoy this one. 'Michael McDermott' is the Chicago songsmith's major label debut from 1996, packed with pulsating '90s roots rock vibes. McDermott has a knack for creating songs with huge catchy choruses and in the case of songs like "Bells" and "Forgotten", these are matched by swathes of uplifting atmospheric guitar to underpin his great songwriting. Other highlights include when he paints vignettes of characters on songs like "Say Hey Charlie Boy" or "Suzie's Got A Brand New Hat" which form the heart of this recording. He's an inventive songwriter and blessed with a powerful set of vocal chords and the combination is compelling. In my book he's like Bruce Cockburn-meets-Michael Anderson and the results are fine!