Reviewed by Paul Kinvig

Question. How many of you out there think that Christian women in rock begins and ends with Margaret Becker? Well, if your tag is Wilson Phillips mixed with a bit of Girlschool, gently simmered with the Bangles then Rachel Rachel is for you. I can't quite get a handle on the name of the band but then again, when I showed this album to one of my friends the last thing he was concerned about was the name for the simple reason that He spotted Kansas' Kerry Livgren and White Heart's Mark Gersmehl and what really made his day was the presence of Dan 'Everything I play turns to gold' Huff. From the lyrical picture painting of "Popa Can You Hear Me" through to the obtusely titled "The Shim Sham' (which contains a chorus that you might not like but you'll find yourself singing) there's plenty here to catch the ear. "Carry On Wayward Son" (yes, that one) stays reasonably faithful to the original but is different enough to make the version interesting. One huge plus in the girls' favour is that they play their own instruments and they aren't arf bad at it either. America at the moment seems to be obsessed with girl groups (e.g. Wilson Phillips, The Barns Sisters, the Triplets) and Rachel Rachel could make a very tidy name for themselves. I would like to hear a few more of the girls' own tracks as they do stand up extremely well against those by the outside writers. Way To My Heart' has found a way to mine.

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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