Blues-based rock is about as popular in the modern musicscape as Sandi Patty at the Cornerstone late night tent. But as Sheryl Crow proved with her recent Album of the Year Grammy, the blues have an eternal appeal. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that Three Crosses, the self-titled debut from Benson Records' latest rock outfit, sets its sails on a retro-rock track, pushed along by the winds of classic rock greats like CCR and Bob Seger, to whom lead vocalist Stephen Pasch bears more than a passing resemblance. Three Crosses doesn't rock the boat too much musically, but they do hold a true course.
"Sign of the Times" catches the band in their most serious rock pose, with a catchy rhythm buoying the song along in a jaunty tune about the end of the world. "Devil Ain't Got No Hold on Me" is a fun, honky-tonk blues bit celebrating our freedom in Christ. Classic rock excels at providing ballad material, and Three Crosses takes advantage with slow songs like "God's House," which joins the recent spate of songs by artists like Randy Stonehill and Lost Dogs about homeless evangelists who die at the end of the song. Other songs like "Can't Buy Salvation" and "I Should Have Known" run along a heavy Eagles vibe. Anthony Krizan of the Spin Doctors apparently added guitars to this album, but I honestly can't tell.
The lyrics stay unabashedly evangelistic, with a heavy emphasis on the crucial basics of the faith. They tell more than they show, but the message is clear. Rarely do they fall into horrid cliché ("I'm gonna buy sunglasses 'cause the future looks so bright"), but only once into outright error, in "Seven Days." The song is intended as a simple exhortation that Christianity should not just be something we do on Sundays. But the lyrics express this thought with a heavy emphasis on the idea that we should "feel" the love of God constantly, as if the presence or absence of a certain emotion was an important part of Christianity. I've known too many people who rejected Christianity because it failed to offer them a feeling they were looking for, so it's unfortunate that this particular song chose to describe our dedication to God in those terms.
The rest of the songs steer a safe course through well-travelled '70s musical waters and standard CCM lyrical revelry about the ultimate victory of the Christian life. Classic rock would feel funny as a vehicle for heavy poetry. So this first album by Three Crosses is more like a barge than a speedboat. It's not flashy, and it's not photogenic, but it carries the cargo where it needs to go, and it's as dependable as you could ask for.
Other coverage for this album
The Lighthouse October 1995Reviewed by Roger AppelinskiA review of the audio project, Three Crosses was previously published. You have probably noticed that record companies are jumping on the CD-ROM bandwagon. Three Crosses was one of the first of such projects. Unfortunately, it shows. Put bluntly, it doesn't measure up to the others. If you're new to the CD-ROM genre, the Three Crosses CD-ROM contains all the music of Three Crosses which plays in…Heaven's Metal #53Reviewed by Doug Van PeltWhen I was back in high school, there were very few bands I enjoyed more than the screaming melodic metal of UFO and The Scorpions. One of those few bands was Blackfoot, who penned some great songs in a fun, yet blistering Southern Rock style. I think one of the reasons was the "fun factor." The monster groove riffs always seemed to bring grins to my face, rather than guitar-hero sneers. When I…
