The album opens with the title track "Shady Tree" - wonderful strings form the background to this number and gentle harmonies add a warmth and depth to the strong lyrics. A song that you want to and will listen to again and again to gain more of a sense of the feeling and message of the song - "Shady Tree, I believe you have something for me".

Another track to draw us in with its thoughtful and clever lyrics follows, "I'd like to go there 'cos "I've never been" - and again one of the many positive trademarks of this album features in this track, the great strings and the gentle harmonies. A song that creates a smile and a makes you think!

Pure poetry is "Further up the Mountain" - a fantastic duet with Jane Saunders - terrific vocals to a poem that gives us encouragement to live by and a hope for the world, both in a romantic sense and philosophically "Somebody has left a boat there to help us to the other side".

"Might be Jesus Knocking" is a top little up tempo gospel song - a song that I defy any one to try and not sing along and tap the toes to this great song. Champs clearly has many talents and strengths to his music, and in this number he combines so well the enjoyable tune with a great and clever line that encompasses a thought or challenge to how we live that you can simply acknowledge or think on for some time.

The next track on this top CD is "Rise Up". A song that fantastically sums up the underdog idea - and how there is opportunity in things not starting all that flash but to "Rise up, find the faith inside". The tune and way the song is sung makes you feel good and want to get down and do that thing that has been put off for so long or relax and take each day on its merits and enjoy the challenge that can be a day. Harmonies again are fantastic.

The there is "The Singing Bird" - what a top song. This album starts on a high and just gets higher and higher - with each listen you enjoy each track more and more and this sure is one of those. Top tune with those great sounding strings and gentle harmonies - and those Aussie positive thoughts, "Keep a green bough in your heart and the singing bird will come".

For a fun little chuckle, but again the lyrics can be as deep as you want to make them, "This Body's Gonna Wear Out!" A different sound with some fun features and in the music and a real Aussie way of expressing and dealing with getting a tad older, as we all seem to do! Enjoyed the fun way of singing about a topic that can be sad - but says live and enjoy the living.

"Rough With The Smooth" follows with more clever lyrics that have a tune to match the intriguing feel to the song, which both build up to a fuller meaning and sound as the song proceeds. Champs exhorts the listener that "Nothin' much good gets done without a back to the wall".

The Hymn for Dead Cowboys "Slow and Mournful" is a most different sound with very little musical instrument participation except for the harmonica, which amazingly creates an incredible mental image of the "west". Powerful song which though addressing death still manages to reflect life going on. Top harmonies with some mighty deep notes.

A wonderful bright and quick mixture of strings then lifts the mood with "Sleep on the Stony Ground" a duet with Beccy Cole. Another very different sound is achieved by Champs in this number - gee this boy is good! This song you do not want to end, one more chorus, one more section with the strings, one more verse with the duet with Beccy. Again Champs successfully raises a more serious topic but in such a way as to help us think about it and be positive.

Then there is the love song duet with Gina Jeffreys, "Love In The Heart". Strong song of acceptance forgiveness and the key to it all, "love in the heart". Can't say any more - just listen to the song.

The second last track "Walk Across That Line" says it all for the Aussie spirit of being honest in all things and "There's a time for sittin' in the sun and a time for pushin' on"... but there is a time "to walk across the line", different for everyone and every issue but there comes a time. Well put Champs and the tune is equally encouraging and again gets you in to join in in your own harmony chorus.

According to notes, it seems that Champs mum joined in the writing of this song, being sadly the last on the CD, 
"When I Kick The Bucket" a fun and uplifting tune on an otherwise sad time of life. A song in the Aussie way, "Cos you cannot take it with you when you depart this joint, and those who try to do so have probably missed the point" - well said. Congratulations Champs and mum.

If you have not picked up the subtle message - this is a CD you should have spinning on the CD player - it is a top Aussie album and deserves the award for "album of the year".

I think I enjoyed that - it was fun listening to the tracks for a different purpose - probably made me appreciate the songs even more - pity I can't sing a bit better - sure did a lot of it!

Andrew from WA