Reviewed by Dave Brassington

Ben Hall is a committed Christian, but this mainly instrumental album does not contain any gospel material. Aged only 22, Ben is already quite a veteran of the country music scene having toured extensively with the late Charlie Louvin. It is very obvious when listening to this CD that Ben has been heavily influenced by the guitar styles of the two greats, Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. As a long time fan of both of their guitar playing I have sat with my eyes closed listening to Ben's playing which took me right back to many of the classic guitar pieces by these two late country greats. The album starts with such lively pieces as "Cannonball Rag", the classic "Guitar Rag" and the very well known "Alabama Jubilee". There are a couple of vocal tracks including Ben's version of the Merle Travis hit from the late '40s "Sweet Temptation". I also very much enjoyed such country greats as "Oklahoma Hills" and King Of The Road". A classy set of what Ben himself describes as "hillbilly jazz".

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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