Reviewed by Neil Brennan

There's an old saying that goes something along the lines of "the sum total of our weaknesses is our strength". I'd always been perplexed by this seemingly cockeyed statement - until I received this recording. For in Stuart Barbour And The Powerhouse we have a fallible band (sinners one and all like the rest of us) producing an almost infallible album. Unashamedly evangelical, they scale great heights with both ballads and rockier numbers alike. Lyrics to lift the spirit and stir the soul are a common feature on tracks like the potentially classic "God In Heaven" ("God in heaven hear our cry/Jesus take us and change our lives/Holy Spirit free our souls/Holy Father make us whole."). Quite why this lot are apparently little known north of Watford is a complete mystery to me. US rockers Keith Brown and Michael Anderson are riding high in our CCM charts, yet in Stu and the guys (and gals!) we have a homegrown outfit who could wipe the floor with the pair of them. So how about it, Nelson Word? They are, without doubt, the jewel in the Soapbox crown, as vital to Steve Flashman as Gazza is to Graham Taylor. An ideal support band for Bryan Adams or Huey Lewis & The News, The Powerhouse have made their mark with an album to stand alongside Split Level's 'Boomerang' on British rock's roll of honour.