Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

Hailing from the Greenock area of Clydeside, just west of Glasgow, Zero BC seem to be an enterprising bunch. They've created their own recording facility, The Fruit Factory, which is available for hire to other interested parties, and this nicely produced and turned out tape is the first release on the Welnoan record label. I hope that they soon become Welnoan, because The Fruit Factory's first product is certainly not a lemon! This organisation (too many members to be called a band) plays an interesting mixture of cover versions, self-penned songs and reworked Sankey and Salvationist hymns, and each track is distinctively different. Their arrangement of the Matt Redman/Martin Smith hit "It's Rising Up" has a three part close harmony female vocal arrangement with key changes to add even more variety; Matt's classic "Once Again" shuffles along wth a faintly Redmanesque vocal from Stuart Trotter; there's a live cut of one of Johnny Markin's Grapevine Festival praise songs; producer Craig Dunsmore's trombone features on the old Fanny Crosby classic "Near The Cross", and there's a rearrangement of "Stand Up Stand Up For Jesus" that mixes the Sankey tune and the Sally Army tune in the same song! Plenty of real instruments, not too much programmed synths and stuff, and with good quality production, this is one private tape that's definitely not a demo, and well worth a listen.

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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