Duane Sikes - Divine

Published Monday 16th December 2013
Duane Sikes - Divine
Duane Sikes - Divine

STYLE: Pop
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 146703-21367
LABEL: Independent
FORMAT: CD EP
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Brendan O'Regan

The only problem I have with this CD is that it is too short! I found myself wanting more of these infectious melodies, confident vocals, appealing harmonies and engaging lyrics. Overall this EP has a flavour of '60s pop and country rock. The themes of the songs are spiritual, but not directly biblical. At various times I was reminded of Mark Heard, Elton John, Billy Joel, Van Morrison and the Byrds. "Divine" reflects on God's love, "Means To Me" reminds us that God has paid our debts and suitably the standout song is "How Can I Help But Love You", sung with passion and backed by simple but effective piano, and carrying a message of gratitude to God - "You opened up my heart to what love can be. . ./You believed I was worth dying for". Single potential there! There's a touch of honky-tonk on "You Mean Everything To Me", another song of gratitude to God with some well-placed trombone work. "Today We Start Our Life Together" is a beautiful romantic song with a strong spiritual dimension - "God blessed us both with one another. . ./Keep us in your will we pray". The final song, "Never Ending", features a funky guitar opening and asks a question we could all consider - "What was I thinking, making my life without you?"

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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Reader Comments

Posted by Duane Sikes in Paducah, KY, USA @ 08:36 on Jan 21 2014

I do appreciate the kind words. Not sure I agree with all of the terminology there but I suppose we are on somewhat of an even plane considering we are from two different continents. I've actually never 'heard' of Mark Heard but I did listen to some of his music after this review.

Either way, it's the overall message we are trying to relay here.



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