(Gospel Blues / Christian Blues-Rock) Sean Michel - I Know I've Been Converted - 2010, MP3, 320 kbps

"Do a Google search for a video of Sean's American Idol audition foot-stomping performance of Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down" and you'll get an instant feel for where he's at. The first thing you have to say is, "Wow, what a beard!" and the second is, "What a soulful voice!" The format is a stripped down, rough and ready rock with a style reminiscent of The Who, Free and Johnny Cash, crowned with the spiritual fervour of Keith Green. This rawness along with Sean's emotive voice alternately belting out and crooning with the emotion of the songs is a powerful combination. The CD begins with the slow title track melody sung as if down a phone, and ends with a stripped down version of the same song, giving an immediate feeling of overall structure containing the musical and subject matter of the other songs. Vocals aside, there are some pretty large guitar riffs as on "Arkansas" and some funky acoustic playing as on "Never Be The Same," but the outstanding highlight is the heartrending performance of the old spiritual "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?" which brought me to tears. The sleeve states that the whole CD was recorded in Sean's living room, which just goes to show what you can achieve at home these days if you put your mind to it. There is the odd timing slipup here and there and some work is required on ensuring consistent backing vocals tuning. But the best cuts here really hit home."-- Cross Rhythms Review by Matthew Cordle