Title: Salvation In Lights
Artist: Mike Farris
INO Records

The story of Mike Farris is not one of, according to his record company, the "youth pastor who happens to write songs". Farris was a hard rocker who nearly died from a drug and alcohol overdose before his about-turn, and describes his life story in terms of Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. His musical transformation is as dramatic as the transformation in his spiritual life, even if his story lends itself to the sentiments of gospel music. To a certain extent, most singers - and listeners - can relate to the redemptive themes in gospel, but one can't help reading Farris's biography into songs like Precious Lord, Take My Hand, and this, perhaps dubiously, lifts his work above your typical gospel-blues cover band. Of course, there is also the delivery, and on this album of covers Farris, a thin white guy, sounds like a big black woman. But unlike American Idol-style neo-gospel, Farris hits just the right balance of fierce gospel vocalising and bluesy understatement. The temptation here could have been to try and blow the roof of these classic songs, but the treatment is classy - just enough flexing muscle in his vocal tones, and a crack band simmering with organ, and clean, nipping guitar. A gospel choir alternately coos and shouts back the choruses. On Change Is Gonna Come the slow drama is massaged with just piano plonking out a melody over humming organ. Oh Mary Don't You Weep has a melancholy sound, despite the bouncy rhythm and honky tonk piano, eventually morphing into woozy New Orleans Jazz, with wailing clarinet. Elsewhere, the bedrock pulse is punctuated by staccato horns. This sound wafts out of hundreds of southern US clubs every humid weekend, but, in this case, the context makes it all the more interesting.