Across the Earth: Tear Down The Walls

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Great songs/heart, excellent production...Needs more depth and theological reflection, June 5, 2009

This review is from: A_cross//The_earth:Tear Down The Walls (Audio CD)
It's been a pleasure to buy a copy of United's latest work. I've been processing it, listening to it in my car, and dialoguing with a few friends about it. I've been looking on United's site and reading some posts to get some context for its creation. Thank you, Hillsong United, for another beautiful offering to our Father in heaven.
I would like to review the album with some positive comments and then some constructive feedback. Hopefully it will bless the Church and worship leaders to be discerning about the songs they utilize in their worship services.
Positive Feedback:
What I love, more than anything else about Hillsong and Hillsong United recordings is their attempt to aurally capture the corporate worship setting. The lead vocals are always very tucked, and one hears easily the swell of many voices (whether choir or congregation) coupled with lots of verb to give it that "in-house" feel (I know many of...

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Great songs/heart, excellent production...Needs more depth and theological reflection, June 5, 2009

This review is from: A_cross//The_earth:Tear Down The Walls (Audio CD)
It's been a pleasure to buy a copy of United's latest work. I've been processing it, listening to it in my car, and dialoguing with a few friends about it. I've been looking on United's site and reading some posts to get some context for its creation. Thank you, Hillsong United, for another beautiful offering to our Father in heaven.

I would like to review the album with some positive comments and then some constructive feedback. Hopefully it will bless the Church and worship leaders to be discerning about the songs they utilize in their worship services.

Positive Feedback:

What I love, more than anything else about Hillsong and Hillsong United recordings is their attempt to aurally capture the corporate worship setting. The lead vocals are always very tucked, and one hears easily the swell of many voices (whether choir or congregation) coupled with lots of verb to give it that "in-house" feel (I know many of them are actually in-house and the reverb is actual house acoustics). I also appreciate that they have an arsenal of different lead singers, helping play down the notion of a "celebrity frontman." Not every church has the resources to have multiple worship leaders and lead singers, but it's a blessing when they do.

The musical production is outstanding. It's the unique, "signature" Hillsong sound, with creative electric guitar and synth work. The electric guitar/synth line (at least that's what I think it is) on the opening track has that beautiful tension of familiarity and uniqueness (oh, so enjoyable).

The album title is creative in its double-entendre, and therefore it's a powerful umbrella to encapsulate a powerful album.

The best song on the album: "Desert Song." As a person who, even at a young age, has had to endure some heavy suffering, I have a tender spot in my heart for any song whose theme is, basically, "even when God has ordained suffering for me, yet I will praise Him." "Desert Song" does this. More than that, "Desert Song" has a unique, yet singable melody and chord structure, and has a nice flow and movement. We will be using "Desert Song" at our church.

Another great song: "Soon." The church needs more songs that focus on the eschaton. We get so caught up in the now, and yet Christ's resurrection and down payment of the Holy Spirit has sealed for us a future that we need to be continually aware of. "Soon" does this. Among modern worship songs, it is rare in its second-coming focus. It's a sweet, beautiful song.

(It's interesting that the two songs I most like are sung by Brooke Fraser. I can't find who wrote these songs [come on Hillsong, don't make it this hard], but my hunch is that she wrote these two. Why? She wrote "Hosanna," which is full of biblical allusion and theological reflection. And these two song seem to come from a similar mind. In general, I find Fraser's writing a cut above the other Hillsong lyricists.)

Constructive Criticism:

An overall observation of much of United's material, across their many wonderful albums, is that their lyrics tend to be disjointed (logical coherence is one of my criteria for choosing worship songs...see my article on criteria). From line to line, I sometimes have a hard time making the immediate logical connection. I understand that some songs are intentionally "impressionistic" (such is the case with the hymn on our album, "Light After Darkness," by Frances Ridley Havergal), but when it happens for much of the material, I have to pause and ask the question of how healthy it is for churches to speak to God with such hiccupped communication. For instance, here's verse 2 of "Freedom is Here:"...

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For the past decade, the United band has extended a youthful arm to the enormous Hillsong congregation and millions of Hillsong listeners worldwide. An amplification of the Australian church’s youth ministry of the same name, the band successfully reaches a younger generation that may remain untapped, or at the very least uninterested, by the more “adult contemporary” stylings of, say, former worship pastor Darlene Zschech.

Now releasing their first completely live CD in three years, the modern-rock worship gurus forfeit the studio for a stage, returning to the format that first made them famous. With cuts by such United dream team members as Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston and new artist sensation Brooke Fraser (who became a contributing member after joining the church), Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls features 12 sensational, stadium-sized songs of worship.

Comparable to Passion recordings here in the States, tight radio edits are traded for extended arrangements, and three-minute pop is exchanged for colossal climaxes, slowly building from the first solo lyric to the last communal phrase.
But when their songs of worship give way to fist-pumping arena rock, it’s hard to...

For the past decade, the United band has extended a youthful arm to the enormous Hillsong congregation and millions of Hillsong listeners worldwide. An amplification of the Australian church’s youth ministry of the same name, the band successfully reaches a younger generation that may remain untapped, or at the very least uninterested, by the more “adult contemporary” stylings of, say, former worship pastor Darlene Zschech. Now releasing their first completely live CD in three years, the modern-rock worship gurus forfeit the studio for a stage, returning to the format that first made them famous. With cuts by such United dream team members as Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston and new artist sensation Brooke Fraser (who became a contributing member after joining the church), Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls features 12 sensational, stadium-sized songs of worship. Comparable to Passion recordings here in the States, tight radio edits are traded for extended arrangements, and three-minute pop is exchanged for colossal climaxes, slowly building from the first solo lyric to the last communal phrase. But when their songs of worship give way to fist-pumping arena rock, it’s hard to discern whether the band is promoting entertainment or corporate praise. United, however, purports its purposes are bigger than performance and its message more than a platform. And countering the idea that this musical outlet is solely about them as a band, they frequently rotate lead vocals, initiating a common spirit from the get-go. Tear Down the Walls definitely further defines the band’s aptitude for creating relevant worship music for the church. And considering that is their explicit aim, I’m not sure what more we can ask from this fine Aussie collective. —Andrew Greer This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!

[MAIN REVIEW]
Hillsong Church has long drawn its worship leaders from the deep and talented pool of songwriters discovered in its United youth ministry, which includes over 3,000 young people at the church’s Sydney and suburban campuses. My initial feedback as a long-time collector of Hillsong and United is that the new album is on par with previous great albums from Hillsong and "Soon" and "You Hold Me Now" are great new worship anthems from the writers and singers of "Lead Me To The Cross", "Mighty To Save" and "From The Inside Out". I hear Joel Houston and Darlene Zschech on a few songs and I love the vocals on the song "Soon", which is written by Brooke (Fraser) Ligertwood and the song is beautiful. Also, I'm not sure of the name of the male singer on "You Hold Me Now" another great song, but he reminds me of Chris Tomlin. “Across The Earth: Tear Down The Walls” features 10 brand new live praise & worship songs and new recordings of “Desert Song” & “Your Name High”, previously released on “This Is Our God” by Hillsong.

“Across The Earth: Tear Down The Walls” is Hillsong United’s first new live CD since 2006. I’ve been singing “The Stand”, “From The Inside Out”, “Mighty...

[MAIN REVIEW] Hillsong Church has long drawn its worship leaders from the deep and talented pool of songwriters discovered in its United youth ministry, which includes over 3,000 young people at the church’s Sydney and suburban campuses. My initial feedback as a long-time collector of Hillsong and United is that the new album is on par with previous great albums from Hillsong and "Soon" and "You Hold Me Now" are great new worship anthems from the writers and singers of "Lead Me To The Cross", "Mighty To Save" and "From The Inside Out". I hear Joel Houston and Darlene Zschech on a few songs and I love the vocals on the song "Soon", which is written by Brooke (Fraser) Ligertwood and the song is beautiful. Also, I'm not sure of the name of the male singer on "You Hold Me Now" another great song, but he reminds me of Chris Tomlin. “Across The Earth: Tear Down The Walls” features 10 brand new live praise & worship songs and new recordings of “Desert Song” & “Your Name High”, previously released on “This Is Our God” by Hillsong. “Across The Earth: Tear Down The Walls” is Hillsong United’s first new live CD since 2006. I’ve been singing “The Stand”, “From The Inside Out”, “Mighty To Save”, “Salvation Is Here” and many other Hillsong classics at my church for many years and I expect there will be several more worship classics from this album. One of the standout songs to me is the first song “Freedom Is Here”. From the opening keyboard part and pulsing drum beat and live audience participation, I knew I was in for a real treat with this album. The next three songs keep the energy going and this album was meant to be experienced along with a live audience as these are truly corporate worship songs. The new recording of “Desert Song”, written by Brooke (Fraser) Ligertwood is another standout song for me and the vocals and sweet chorus of the song are very engaging. The anthemic “Tear Down The Walls” is a great call to unity and reminded me of “The Stand” which is one of my all-time favorites. The songs I keep coming back to over and over are “Soon” and “You Hold Me Now”. I’m looking forward to singing both of those songs with fellow believers “soon and very soon”. “Your Name High”, written by Joel Houston is another beautiful song that had me singing along and the closing song “Yours Forever” reminded me of an upbeat newsboys song in the style of “I Am Free”. CLOSING THOUGHTS I'm impressed by the consistent quality and fresh worshipful songs that come from Hillsong United. “Across The Earth: Tear Down The Walls” is no exception. A must-have for your praise and worship collection. Rating: 9.4 out of 10 (94%, A) Review written by: Kevin Davis | Review can also be found here. This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from ChristianMusicReview.org. Click here to visit ChristianMusicReview.org today!

Hillsong United returns after a two year hiatus from new musc with "Tear Down The Walls - Across The Earth". But how does it measure up against previous releases? I fear that in some peoples eyes, it may fail to meet expectations. How else could you top last years epic "I Heart Revolution"? You don't. And the members of HU know that all too well. So we are treated to a serious set of 12 truly great worship songs that dont try to beat any former HU albums, but almost totally departs from it!
The Album kicks off with the electro-rock anthem "Freedom Is Here", a good song but pales in comparison with whats to come. "No Reason To Hide" is a rather unconventional rock anthem that could make its way into the ever diversified church worship circuit. Just everything about it is right. "More Than Anything" follows suit with an unlikely sound, but infectious still.
"King of All Days" slows the album down a bit with beautiful lyrics and a church ready sound. "Desert Song" the previously released Brooke Ligertwood (formerly Fraser) penned song explores our prayers in all times of life, from Battle and Fire to times of H...

Hillsong United returns after a two year hiatus from new musc with "Tear Down The Walls - Across The Earth". But how does it measure up against previous releases? I fear that in some peoples eyes, it may fail to meet expectations. How else could you top last years epic "I Heart Revolution"? You don't. And the members of HU know that all too well. So we are treated to a serious set of 12 truly great worship songs that dont try to beat any former HU albums, but almost totally departs from it!

The Album kicks off with the electro-rock anthem "Freedom Is Here", a good song but pales in comparison with whats to come. "No Reason To Hide" is a rather unconventional rock anthem that could make its way into the ever diversified church worship circuit. Just everything about it is right. "More Than Anything" follows suit with an unlikely sound, but infectious still.

"King of All Days" slows the album down a bit with beautiful lyrics and a church ready sound. "Desert Song" the previously released Brooke Ligertwood (formerly Fraser) penned song explores our prayers in all times of life, from Battle and Fire to times of Harvest... this is a truly wonderful song. "Oh You Bring" is another light tune that is simple but powerful. This song is one of my only dissapointments with the album because of something that I just can't put my finger on. It isnt horrible, but it just doesnt seem to hold your attention either. "Tear Down The Walls" is nice enough, and is the only other song where I take issue. It rings in at an epic 10+ minutes, but doesnt reach the same level as say "Saviour King". Its still a nice song, and keeps the flow of the album well.

"Soon" is the only other Brooke Ligertwood penned song on the album, which under normal circumstances would be relativley dissapointing, but this song is so wonderful it deserves a paragraph of its own. Lyrically alone it is not a departure from other HU material, HOWEVER it is the sound and presentation that makes it so genius. The sound of a solo Piano and tender female vocals has not been heard very often on the HU stage during any of their previous albums. Usually a guitar heavy, riff driven band delivers this VERY delicate song with ease and prestige. The song could have come off of one of Ligertwood's albums, but steers the band into uncomfortable territory, and I hope to hear more intimate songs like this on future projects.

The rest of the album does not require me to ramble on, but can be summed up in a simple word, Wonderous. I truly loved the rest of the album. From, "You Hold Me Now" to "Yours Forever". Pure worship and praise that will give new HU listeners a good listen and Current HU fans alot to love.

This album is just a pleasure to listen to, and if this points to new things to come, I can't wait!

~BrianH