Reviewed by Robin Thompson

Josh is the best selling American singer/songwriter with a wonderful, soft, tenor voice who has sung with the likes of Elton John, Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams. It's an eclectic mix of names and this is because Josh excels in straddling the boundary between the pop and classical genres. At the time of writing this review 'Noel' has already gone four times platinum - but now his music is being marketed in the UK to a Christian audience. Despite its enormous sales, I found 'Noel' to be patchy. I loved his interpretations of "Silent Night" and "Little Drummer Boy", especially the use of open tuned guitar to create a Celtic feel on the latter. But there were also songs like "Thankful" which I felt was a bit non-descript and the church organ on the final track "O Come All Ye Faithful" just spoils the whole feel for me. Is Josh a "real" Christian? That we've yet to find out.

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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