Stewart, Pete


s/t

The solo debut of Grammatrain's lead singer/guitarist still has that grunge sound, but that doesn't mean this is a grunge album. Producer Michael Tait (DC Talk) adds some drum loops, horn samples and an assortment of other non grunge sounds, and Pete comes out sounding more like the work he did with DC Talk on Supernatural than Grammatrain. In fact, the chorus of "Up in the Sky" sounds a lot like the chorus of "Supernatural" (come to think of it, the lyric to "Little Country Church" reminds me of Michael W. Smith's "Kentucky Rose"). There is a lot of diversity here, both within the songs and between tracks. "Out of my Mind" stands out as one of the harder cuts, and it alternates between a soft clean groove over a drum loop on the verses and a crunchy chorus.
Pete pulls no punches about praising God on this album and there is a lot of good rock and roll and good worship songs to showcase his singing and playing. The songs are very well written, with cutting grooves and a big, well balanced, powerful sound you don't always get from a solo project. From the voice / piano / drums / strings of "Waiting for the Son" to the electric power of a hard driving guitar ("Don't Underestimate Me"), Pete Stewart shows excellent musicianship with his tightly worked melodies and well-crafted power.
[Forefront/ DJ]



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