Space Time Continuum
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The Washington Projects This brother/sister duo is really awesome! I love Group 1 Crew and TobyMac, so this album instantly won my heart. Their unique blend of hip-hop soul, R&B, funk and pop is very clever and like...
Light Up The Dark
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The Washington Projects The Christian hip hop genre is something that I've always been a huge fan of, but this brother/sister duo are a great find! Their super catchy songs remind me of Group 1 Crew and TobyMac, who are...
People & Songs, Opus 1 Collective
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Jennie Lee This album is a fantastiac compilation of worship songs written by Jennifer Lee Riddle. It includes some of the most iconic worship anthems, such as "Faithful", "When The Stars Burn...
Chris Tomlin "And If Our God Is For Us..." Review | Posted November-25-2010
Earlier this year with the release of the Passion: Awakening live album we were introduced to a few songs to be included on acclaimed worship leader Chris Tomlin's seventh studio album. One of those songs included the smash hit radio single "Our God", which is the inspiration behind Chris Tomlin's brand new album, And If Our God Is For Us... This album is exactly what long time fans will expect from Chris, and this could have both a negative and positive impact on listeners.
The album opens up with a new studio recorded version of "Our God". This version doesn't differ too much from the live version, apart from the addition of heavy strings. This song immediately introduces us to the message and direction of the album, with its worshipful lyrics in the chorus. "Our God is greater/Our God is stronger/God you are higher than any other/Our God is healer/Awesome in power/Our God, our God/. To be honest I liked the live version better because it just had a more passionate and triumphant feel to it, but I still acknowledge that live versions are very hard to convert to studio versions.
Following "Our God" is the latest radio single "I Will Follow". This song is more a personal statement from Chris rather than a "church worthy" worship song. Chris sings about how he will follow God till the end and serve him in everything that he does. "Where You go, I'll go/ Where You stay, I'll stay/When you move, I'll move/I will follow you/How you love,I'll love/How you serve, I'll serve/If this life I lose, I will follow you/ The vocals of Chris are excellent on this song and the chorus is surprisingly catchy. This song is also my favourite off the entire album.
"I Lift My Hands" slows down the fast paced momentum with some beautiful piano parts and melodies. Like most of Chris Tomlin's songs, it slowly builds up into heavy drums and passionate melodies. This song isn't the most complicated song with lyrics like "I lift my hands to believe again/You are my refuge, You are my strength"but it still reflects the immense talent that Chris possesses.
"Majesty Of Heaven" has an interesting pop beat throughout the whole song, which is something I least expected. It also features great backing vocals from Christy Nockels, which can be heard clearly with about thirty seconds remaining in the song.
The most creative song off the album is "No Chains On Me", a fun and upbeat song with an electronic/dance beat. I was pleased to hear some more diverse sounds on this song. However, to some people the dance beat might come across a little weird because it's a whole new world of sound that Chris rarely ventures near.
The next half of the album settles down into the signature Chris Tomlin soft worship sound. "Faithful" is a passionate song about how faithful God is towards his people. The feature that makes this song so great is that Chris Tomlin does a duet with Christy Nockels. I don't know what it is about female vocalists, they just make a song magic. "Faithful and true is the name of the Lord/You are faithful God/".
Featured on Passion: Awakening earlier this year, "Awakening" is a great closer to this album. Like "Our God" the live version had more electricity than this version but is still the same song that calls out to God, "For the world You love/Your will be done/Your will be done in me".
I mean no disrespect for Chris when I say that once again he has produced eleven songs that sound almost exactly the same as his past albums. This album just didn't affect me as much as his others and I think he hasn't produced an excellent album since Arriving. While there was some musical creativity on some songs such as "No Chains On Me", the lyrics were too cliché. However these songs are hugely appropriate for church and I'm sure you'll see them on your sunday morning setlist soon. If you are going to buy this album, I recommend that you only buy a few songs off iTunes, and not the whole album. The few songs you should buy are "Our God", "I Will Follow", and "I Lift My Hands".
Chris Tomlin "Hello Love" Review | Posted November-24-2010
He's released millions of albums, won so many awards that the list is too long to name and you would've no doubt sung his songs passionately in church each Sunday. In 2008, contemporary/worship icon Chris Tomlin released his fifth studio album titled Hello Love, much to the delight of worship and Tomlin fans all around the world.
Hello Love never strays far from the typical Chris Tomlin worship sound. It opens up with the worshipful and upbeat track "Sing, Sing, Sing" that will delight long time fans. This song is highly appropriate for performance in a church service.
"Jesus Messiah" immediately slows the fast paced agenda down a little bit and reminds us of the strong and unconditional love that Jesus has for us, enough to die on the cross to save us from "He became sin, Who knew no sin, So that we might become his Righteousness, He humbled himself and carried the cross."
The high-energy continues with the driving and joyful rocker, "You Lifted Me Out", that talks about how Jesus' love has set us free. It is an upbeat and joyful song, with an infectious chorus as it describes how Jesus has set us dancing now that we have been set free. "You lifted me out, Lifted me out, And set me dancing.........Free now I am free, Your love has rescued me......"
The saviour for this album is the slower and piano driven ballad "I Will Rise" that slowly builds up into Chris being backed up by a choir. The lyrics and message are great as it states that all is well now that Jesus has overcome the cross. "I will rise when he calls my name, No more sorrow, No more pain, I will rise on eagle's wings, Before my God fall on my knees, and rise..." The passionate vocal performance from Chris also makes this song a standout.
"Love" is a song with an African beat that includes an African children's choir and states that wherever you go there will be love and that love is something you can never go without. "There is love, there is forgiveness, there is love in times of need."
"Praise The Father, Praise The Son" is my personal favourite off the album. It's a beautiful worship track that slowly builds up into a spine-tingling chorus full of passionate vocals from Chris and a duet with a female vocalist as they both chant "Praise the Father, Praise the Son!" This song is very gentle with some great piano parts in it.
I was kind of hoping to find something a little bit more creative from Chris Tomlin on this album, but he didn't oblige. If you only judge music on the sound, then you won't enjoy this album as much. However, if you're a worship and Chris Tomlin fan, this album is tip-top. Lyrically, Hello Love has what you expect from a Chris Tomlin album. Each song is a beautiful reflection of the greatness and might of our holy God. All the songs are great worship tunes that are sure to be sung in churches in America and all over the world.
Great Christmas Project | Posted November-23-2010
Coming off the back of their popular Christmas release in 2007, the Centricity Music family returns again this Christmas season with Bethlehem Skyline: Volume 2. The newest installment in the Bethlehem Skyline series welcomes newly signed artists Lanae Hale and Me In Motion, along with Sixteen Cities, Matt Papa and Andrew Peterson as well as the return of Downhere and Jason Gray.
Bethlehem Skyline Volume 2 opens up with "Give It Away" by new artist Me In Motion. This song is a lot slower than what you from the band and encourages us to open up our arms and hearts to those who are lonely at Christmas time and take all our selfishness away. Me In Motion then puts the rock in the following song "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree". This song displays the crunchy pop/rock sound that we're used to from the guys from Me In Motion, and is not only the best version I've ever heard of this song but also the best Christmas song I've heard in a while. By the 2nd chorus you'll be dancing, especially when Seth sings with his usual passionate higher pitched voice.
Following these two songs is Downhere's version of "Christmas In Our Hearts" and "Silent Night". You may have already heard these two songs off the bands 2009 release, How Many Kings. It was a little bit distracting to have the very slow and soft "Silent Night" follow the energetic tunes from Me In Motion, and I think Downhere's vocalist sang a little too low to keep me interested. Then again I guess most versions of this classic carol are performed in the same fashion.
Jason Gray follows with an upbeat performance of "Do You Hear What I Hear", which is one of my favourite Christmas carols. Centricity makes a good choice to assign Jason to cover this song because his vocals fit the song perfectly. Jason then goes on to perform "Love Has A Name", a nice little acoustic ballad that is written by Jason. It adds a bit of original flavour to the album as a whole.
High Valley return to the Bethlehem Skyline series with their own unique version of "Away In A Manger" in a country/bluegrass style. This is the most interesting version of this song that I've ever heard, but it was nice to see that High Valley have performed a unique and original country version of the song. These guys definetley have potential and it was a shame that they only got to perform one song on this album.
Lanae Hale's performances add a bit of a female touch to an already male dominated project. Her rendition of "Carol Of The Bells" almost sounds haunting with her high pitched vocals, the "Merry, merry, merry, Merry Christmas!" lyric and the female backing vocalists.Lanae then brings us her own Christmas song "Starving Artist Christmas" which is a humorous song about clearing the assumption that all musicians have money. Lanae sings about how even though she has two jobs she still can't afford food or heating. The clever use of rhyme was the most enjoyable aspect of this song, along with the ding-dong's in the introduction.
Debut artists Sixteen Cities bring their own Christmas song "Morning Star" to the table, a song with simple lyrics in the chorus, "The Morning Star pierced through the dark, Hallelujah Christ is born, He's the greatest gift we could receive, Hallelujah Christ is born! This was the first song I've heard from the band and Josiah Warneking's vocals were soft and amazing on this song. Sixteen Cities then perform their own soft rendition of "O Holy Night".
Andrew Peterson's "Long, Long Ago" has a country feel to it and is a simple song stating reflecting on the fact that "Christ came to Bethlehem long,long ago". Here is another country/bluegrass artist I feel should have had another song on this project. Matt Papa closes the album with "Little Drummer Boy" and "Hope Has Come". "Little Drummer Boy" is a heavier version of the song and isn't the best I've heard, but still does the job nicely. Bethlehem Skyline Volume 2 ends on an epic song with "Hope Has Come", that leaves the listener with the message that "Hope has come, Let us adore him..... Now in flesh appearing".
Whatever mood your'e in at Christmas time, Bethlehem Skyline Volume 2 has a wide variety of songs and themes to suit your mood. This quality of this project far surpasses that of its predecessor. The highlights were Me In Motion's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", High Valley's "Away In A Manger" and Lanae Hale's "Starving Artist Christmas, as well as Jason Gray's performances. My only concern was that some artists only got to perform one song, therefore only showing half of their full potential. However, this project is a reflection of the talent of Centricity artists and the quality of the Centricity Music label itself. Bethlehem Skyline Volume 2 is a great compilation of Christmas music gems and a must have for all fans of Centricity artists. This a great Christmas project!
Smitty doesn't disappoint | Posted November-03-2010
After twenty studio albums, nine Grammy Award nominations and six Dove Award victories, legendary Christian/Contemporary figure Michael W. Smith returns in 2010 with one of his most personal and tear-jerking albums to date titled "Wonder". With the release of his last excellent studio album four years ago (Stand), I had high expectations for this album. It's safe to say that even after so much success and so many albums that Smitty doesn't dissappoint.
The album opens up with the lead single "Save Me From Myself" which is the most aggressive of the album as well as being one of the most aggressive Smitty songs that I've heard. This song is a catchy pop/rock worship tune with a triumphant chorus highlighting that God is the only one who can save us from ourselves, as well as being someone we can lean on. Following this song is "Take My Breath Away" which is an upbeat pop tune that uses the strings and piano extremely well. "Run To You" is a great vocal performance from Smitty and also a solid soft rock ballad. "I'll Wait For You" takes a while to really get into the song but once the lively and passionate voices of the choir are introduced you'll have no problems at all. This song is one of the most personal and specific off the album. With lyrics like "and I'm tryin' to find a way to hold onto my faith...... while I wait for you" highlight the fact of needing God when the going gets tough in life.
For me the standout off the album is "Welcome Home" an emotional and personal piano ballad about dealing with loss. "I can't believe that I'm here having to say goodbye, and I can barely see you through these tears I cry." Smitty says he dedicated it to his wife's grandmother who "went home to Jesus". The song is sad at first because of the feelings of loss but then is filled with joy when you realise the incredible reality of going to heaven as a follower of Jesus. This song is my favourite because of the joyful message and the way it excels both musically and lyrically.
Smitty also goes very deep with the basis of his songs' meaning. "Leave" covers the issue of abuse with lyrics like "Daddy's on the sofa turning up another bottle to unleash when I get home" and also discusses the fact that we need God's help in these tough situations "And I just wanna leave, Oh God please help me now." Smitty's vocals sum up the feeling of the song and the amazing talent that he has. His vocals in the bridge sound as if he is really in the situation and crying out to God for mercy.
The lyrical depth on the album is incredible. The album covers themes of hope and loss on "Welcome Home", abuse on "Leave" and our need for a saviour on "Save Me From Myself", as well as dedication to his wife on "Forever Yours" and "You Belong To Me". The lyrics combined with the awesome vocals help to place the listener and Smitty himself in the situations of those described in the songs, and at the same highlighting the talent that this incredible artist has. Unfortunately in some parts of the album I felt as if Smitty had paid so much attention to the lyrics and forgot to mix up the sound a little bit. I thought his 2006 release "Stand" was amazing, but this new album from the legend Michael W. Smith is even better. There is a lot of depth on this album, especially lyrically. So if you're sick of the shallow rock n' roll songs that you hear on the radio then give this album a listen.
Great worship! | Posted November-03-2010
I have never been a huge fan of worship, but this album slightly changed my mind. The songs on this album are just so passionate and worshipful towards our powerful God. The best song is New Doxology.
Great worship album! | Posted November-03-2010
I can say without question that this is definetley one of the greatest worship albums I've heard. The songs on this album are just so powerful and worshipful. Great album for worship fans.
Matthew West "The Story Of Your Life" Review | Posted October-30-2010
With successful CCM radio hits such as "More", "You Are Everything" and "The Motions", you've most likely heard of Matthew West, a talented artist with a God-given gift of songwriting. Now he's back in 2010 with his latest offering titled The Story Of Your Life. Based on over 10,000 stories of listeners in the USA and from around the world, Matthew produces eleven beautiful songs about how God works through the lives of people.
The albums opens up with the title track "The Story Of Your Life". This song encourages people who have been broken in life to share their story with others, and that this is only the beginning of your life. "This is the story of your life, You decide how the rest is gonna end." This song is the classic sound from Matthew West and gets the album of to a flying start. The next song and lead single "My Own Little World" is basically a summary of all the stories that Matthew read and also lays out the direction that the rest of the album will take. It highlights the fact that we as human beings can be so selfish sometimes, and that we're usually too proud to admit it. The song encourages people to step out of their comfort zone and show love to those around us. One of the key lines is "....I could be living right now, Outside my own little world." This song is my favourite off the album because I strongly agree with the ideas presented.
"Strong Enough" is the story of a nineteen year old girl who planned to go to college but was stopped when she was involved in a car accident, shattering her leg. The song reminds us that we never have to go through anything by ourselves because God is always there.The song was inspired by Phillipians 4:13. "One Less" is about adoption and states that now that there is a little girl that has a home there's "One less broken heart in the world tonight." Matthew's heart goes out to school kids on "To Me", a song about bullying at school with a bit of a country flavour. This song is even better with a guest appearance from Leigh Nash. "Two Houses" is based on the story of a fifteen year old girl who had trouble dealing with her parents' divorce"...these two houses sure don't feel like home". The deepest song off the album is "Broken Girl". This song is based on over two hundred and fifty stories of women who had suffered sexual abuse as children, that Matthew received within the first two days. This is a truly heartbreaking song as it describes the evil of abuse, but also joyful as it says that you may have had your honour taken away from you but no-one can ever take away the love God has for you. "You're not the worthless they made you feel, There is a Love they can never steal away."
One thing is for sure. The Story Of Your Life is definetley not for the faint hearted and if you're looking for a fun, enjoyable album this won't meet your needs. This album covers themes of pain, suffering, abuse, divorce, bullying, sickness and all the evil in the world, but it also reminds the listener that in the midst of all evil God is and always will be there to carry you through. The lyrical depth of this album is incredible and that's what makes the album so emotional. This album is special because its the "people's album", and I'm sure at least one song will affect your life in some way. The only downside of Matthew's latest effort is the musical creativity. The sound is your typical contemporary radio sound and after a while the sound is too bland and you start to lose interest. But soon those thoughts disappear as you hear the emotional and personal stories of salvation that this album has to offer. For a challenging and thought provoking listen, I recommend giving this album a listen.
With the release of Revelation in 2008, Third Day marked out the sound direction that the veteran rock quartet would take. It seems Revelation was just an introduction of what to expect from Move, as the band returns to their traditional southern rock sound. With a flavour and atmosphere similar to that of Needtobreathe , this album will please the ear of all southern rock and country fans.
The album kicks off with the lead single "Lift Up Your Face" an edgy rock song that is probably the most aggressive off the album. It was co-written by the Rinehart brothers Bear and Bo, from Needtobreathe. This is also my favourite song off the album because of its excellent guitar solo and the perfect vocal performance from Mac Powell, as he cries out "Salvation is calling your name!". The song is definetley set in dark circumstances but is more focused on finding God's light in dark times.
Another highlight is "Surrender", which sounds similar to Needtobreathe's song "Lay 'Em Down", with the twangy country guitar intro. It's also got an amazing guitar solo with banjos and clapping during the chorus. This is probably the funnest song off the album.
Third Day also include some worshipful tracks such as "Children Of God". This song choruses that because of Jesus' death and resurrection on the cross, we are now redeemed and can be called children of God. The only criticism of this song is its placement in terms of track listing. It was an annoying contrast to have this song placed at Track 3 between the two heavier songs "Make Your Move" and "Surrender". It was hard for me to adjust and it was even harder when the children's choir was singing solo at the conclusion of the song.
Third Day has put in a big effort with this album because even the softer songs don't sound bland or cliche. "Trust In Jesus" is an encouragement to all Christians with lyrics like "Trust in Jesus, My Great Deliverer, My strong Defender". "Gone" is a catchy acoustic song featuring the unique voice of Bear Rinehart and for me is a standout. "Sound of Your Voice" features a female vocalist in Kerrie Roberts and sounds similar to "Born Again" off Revelation but just doesn't have that same spark. "What Have You Got To Lose" is the soft rock ballad off the album and another highlight. It's a song that encourages everyone to lay their sins and burdens down at the foot of the cross as Mac Powell sings "Let go of all you have, only then can life be found."
The band says that they didn't just want to create "Revelation Part 2" with this album, but on first listen it sounds as if they have. But after a few listens those thoughts will be wiped from your mind when you realise the beauty of this album, both lyrically and musically. I usually steer clear of southern rock/ country but this album has changed my mind. This is a must have for southern rock fans and long time fans of Third Day. I think everyone agrees on one thing; Move is Third Day at its very best.
Good album | Posted October-20-2010
This is a great album from from Hillsong Chapel. It is a pleasant and refreshing listen to hear classic favourites like "Run", "Mighty To Save" and "Salvation is Here".
Album of The Year | Posted October-17-2010
Ever since the release of their debut album way back in 1995, legendary Christian music figures Jars of Clay have consistently delivered magical music. I remember first being introduced to their music on the release of their first album. With hits like "Flood", "Liquid" and "Love Song For A Saviour" this album gained enormous popularity for the band. Since then the guys have released ten more studio albums. After not even two years since their last excellent album, Jars of Clay are back with their latest beautiful worship collaboration titled The Shelter. Can the guys from Jars produce another album full of magic as they have done for the past 17 years?
Musically, The Shelter is not that different from The Long Fall Back to Earth, but in another way it is an entirely new collection compared to their past albums. The main difference is that there are an array of special guests featured in most of the songs. For a moment you might be thinking to yourself "Is this a Jars of Clay album or a Brandon Heath album", but multiple listens will soon wipe this thought from you mind. This new album was inspired by an old Irish proverb that when translated says "It is in the shelter of each other that the people live." The combination of talent from artists such as tobyMac, Brandon Heath, David Crowder, Mac Powell and Audrey Assad (to name a few) with Jars of Clay creates the atmosphere that the band had in mind; writing worship songs that reach out to the people and community around us. Lyrically, The Shelter is a superior force. The album is a beautiful collection of beautiful worship songs that are appropriate to sing with each other; in a folk and acoustic manner. Track 3 "We Will Follow" is a good example. I can just picture a group of people standing together in a house looking up to the sky and singing this song with passion. It just has that sort of feel to it.
There are no tracks that really lack from this album. There are a couple of standouts that just have to be mentioned here. One of them is the title track "Shelter". This track features tobyMac, new artist Audrey Assad and Brandon Heath. The vocals and harmonies are excellent as the guest artists and Dan Haseltine echo together, "In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live..." The only downside of this song is that the vocals of tobyMac are hardly noticeable, but his gentle "background noise" are still a great addition.
Another standout track is the first single "Out Of My Hands". This song features the familiar voice of Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North. The two sing in unison, "It's out of my hands..... you set me apart". They are singing in amazement of God's decision to choose us as his people.
The most aggressive track off the album would have to be "No Greater Love". Amazingly, this track doesn't feature any guest artists. This song is then placed in contrast with "Eyes Wide Open" (feat. Mac Powell, Derek Webb, Burlap to Cashmere) which has layed back folk/acoustic guitar strumming and clapping beats. Yes, Jars of Clay covers enough areas of sound to keep you hooked on the album's fishing rod without letting go.
The Shelter is an amazing forty-eight minutes of listening pleasure. I just adore the idea of reaching out the community around us who desperately need God's love, instead of containing ourselves inside a church building and singing without much purpose. This album never lets you down both lyrically and musically and that's what you can expect from Jars of Clay. You don't even have to think twice before buying this album because you won't be disappointed. Jars of Clay have once again pulled off another golden offering as they have done throughout their whole career. It is without a doubt that this is now the best album of the year so far.
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