Reviewed by Steve Lawson

The Crossing are part of the Jesus People USA community, best known as home to CR's own Glenn Kaiser. They've been ploughing ahead with the own brand of acoustic Celtic folk for many a year now, and stylistically, 'The Court Of A King' breaks no new ground. However, that's not really the point with traditional folk, and it's a style that they do rather well, in a Fairport Convention kind of way. Christmas classics like "In Dulci Jubilo" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" are placed next to more obscure material in a pleasant mix of up tempo stompers and minor key dirges. It took me a while to get my head round the idea of a bunch of Americans doing Celtic folk, but when you think about it, it's no stranger than the thousands of UK pop singers who affect a mid Atlantic accent to try and sound a bit more rock 'n' roll! As an alternative to the majority of saccharine sweet CCM Christmas albums, this album comes as a breath of fresh air.

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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