Dave's Review

Rating: 3 1/2 STARS

Website: www.davidaustinmusic.com
Song Titles: "Just A Prayer Away," "The Lost And The Found," "Little Is Much," "Lord Of My Life," "I'm No Island," "You Are Worthy!," "The Life-giving Feast" (sic), "There's Room In Heaven," "I Will Believe, I Will Obey," "I Want To Live," "Heaven Is Waiting," "The Way Of The Cross," and "Let Never-ending Praises Ring" (sic)

David Austin sings and plays a variety of instruments (ranging from guitar to lap dulcimer to triangle) on his 2004 release titled Journey In Faith. Austin wrote or co-wrote eleven of the thirteen tracks on the CD. "I Will Believe, I Will Obey" (Keith Woods) and "The Way Of The Cross" (Charles H. Gabriel) are the exceptions. Journey In Faith shows a good deal of promise for this singer/songwriter. I'm not sure how well the Southern Gospel market will accept him, but I believe he has the potential to do well in styles that are close cousins to Southern Gospel like Christian Country, Bluegrass Gospel or possibly Christian Folk.

Although his songwriting isn't quite as inventive, Austin's vocal style and writing makes me think of Michael Card's work during the late 1980s on a couple of songs. "Just A Prayer Away" and "The Lost And The Found" have a mid-tempo Country feel. "Little Is Much" is a musical departure from the rest of the CD. Austin sings a cappella vocals over a percussion loop for this fun track. "Lord Of My Life," a duet with Leslie Dunbar that Austin wrote, is the best track on Journey Of Faith. This song is hitting on all cylinders with it's praise focused lyric and Dunbar's vocal blending perfectly with Austin's. "I'm No Island" has a joyous folk music appeal, as does "You Are Worthy!"...pleasant rhythms with a light hearted melody and lyric. "The Life-giving Feast" is a song about communion that includes spoken dialogue by Austin and two pastors.

"There's Room In Heaven" kicks off a series of bluegrass arrangements. Austin is joined on vocals by James Christian and Mike Lee while adding bass and lead vocal parts of his own to create a quartet blend on "I Will Believe, I Will Obey." A characteristically out of tune, but exuberant children's choir sings with Austin on "I Want To Live." "Heaven Is Waiting" extends the bluegrass feel further with Austin again singing more than one vocal part. Austin switches to the lap dulcimer for an instrumental version of "The Way Of The Cross," one of the few songs on this CD that he didn't write. Rounding out the CD, "Let The Never-ending Praises Ring" is a poorly recorded track that sounds like it was made in a church building rather than a studio. Also, the piano plays the same vocal parts on each pass rather than offering a creative, contrasting accompaniment. It's not a badly written song, but the arrangement and the inconsistent recording quality make it feel totally out of character on this CD. The CD concludes with a performance track for "Lord Of My Life."

With 48 minutes of music, I would have deleted a couple of tracks from this release to make the overall quality come across more effectively. That being said there are several gems to be found on Journey In Faith that deserve your attention if you like your music in a laid back country/folk/bluegrass style. You owe it to yourself to check out David Austin if that description fits you.

by David Bruce Murray