Reviewed by Phil Thomson

I'm not sure what impression Spark Music are hoping to make in the UK market with this sung-in-English Dutch initiative; but there's little competition. Marylene's silk is as wel­come on the scene as Caroline Bonnett's edge - and likely to reach a broader spec­trum of taste. This album is what we've come to expect from our surviving Christian labels - slick MOR production values, sincere delivery, and a clutch of songs which neither prick the conscience nor send us to sleep. And that's the problem - the songs. You know the production and the musicianship is in good hands when you see that Les Moir is in control, and that the likes of Messrs. Thompson, Costello And Fitzgerald are in there somewhere. It's the kind of musical package you can take anywhere. But what is it all saying? Marylene is at her best with Phil Baggaley's "Waiting Game" sung mistily in French, and her own "A Love So Strong" - I could have listened to an album's worth of those. But yet again, it seems that the clear waters of creativity become muddied by the insistence on searching for the perfect evangelistic lyric. Without the bite or convic­tion, the rest teeter dangerously towards the bland. This is a lost opportunity to set Marylene apart, but it is certainly not froth, and it's likely that you'll find yourself returning to it from time to time.

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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