Reviewed by Alan Smith

A rehashed old-favourite-hymns album for jazz buffs and all those who remember Georgie Fame. Georgie's son, Tristan, has produced this one-off work which really offers no surprises and is, honestly, a rather self-indulgent paean to gospel jazz executed by two great musicians. The whole thing sounds like it's been put down after a good Saturday night dinner - you know, it sounded okay at the time - using all the chords you never find in Mission Praise; gratuitous whole tones and flattened thirteenths when simple triads are more tuneful. All this probably sounds very unfair, but for me the test is whether I can get into it and worship God, and I couldn't. As an R&B freak and lover of Mose Allison, Jimmy Smith as well as Georgie Fame, I am disappointed I don't love this CD because the styles eclectically reflect all of these greats and the songs are mega - "In Heavenly Love Abiding", "The Old Rugged Cross", "Abide With Me" et al, mostly arranged by the two performers together with Georgie (credited as Clive Powell). Even the creamy Hammonds (C3 and A100) couldn't woo me and, ironically, the one track I loved was Steve Gray's version of "Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind", played on a slightly out-of-tune piano. I'd like to know sometime what the team who made this album really think about it a year after it was made.

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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