Reviewed by Paul Kent

Mr Hewitt first released a commercial recording in 1973 with 'The Lion And The Lamb' and has since enjoyed a formidable career, working on a huge variety of projects in a wide range of styles alongside such notable characters as Jessy Dixon and Sir Cliff Richard. This double CD features 30 hand picked tunes spanning 30 illustrious years of songwriting/performing and features a vast array of influences which encompass country, blues, rock and folk. Garth Hewitt is in essence a story teller with a guitar. He echoes something of an era of uncomplicated beauty, using simple and repetitive melody lines to accompany strong "straight down the line" stories that carry a powerful Gospel message. It is perhaps that same simplicity which works so well to make his songs potent (check out "Light A Candle In The Darkness") that works equally against Garth as the repetitive nature of the songs occasionally become tiresome (particularly noticeable in "Not In My Name"). That said, there is a raw passion to these recordings which I find difficult to fault. The simple beauty shines through, humbling a musician such as myself, redirecting me towards some simple biblical truths which are rarely tackled so bluntly in other modern recordings. A useful compilation of Britain's early age of CCM.

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