Believe it or not, it's only been for the last couple years that the Christian music market has been overrun with Praise & Worship albums - some phenomenal, some cheap compilations of previously released material, some monotonous and repetitive. It used to be a risk for a well-established artist like Michael W. Smith to devote so much time to a worship album, let alone a record label or anything other than recording his own music and touring. Well, MWS is one of the busiest men in Christian music, and though it's tired him out a bit lately, it paid off for him in 1998. It wasn't good enough for him to rest after having released his Live the Life album, to simply ride on the success of a few hit singles. An idea had been brewing in his mind for a while - making a worship album. But rather than reiterating a bunch of praise songs we had all heard before and trying to make them sound cool, he recruited a number of other artists to either write their own praise songs or interpret some of their favorites. What he ended up with was a little bigger than he initially anticipated, due to the participation of artists like dc Talk and Jars of Clay, but I commend him for not limiting the artists present to his own label home (Reunion) or the fledgling label he started up the previous year (Rocketown). What we have here is a real attempt to reach beyond the "industry" of Christian music - to create a worship album that the younger generation will like, but that doesn't try to blow them away with an array of the latest musical trends (Carman, please take note!) Most of the artists present are well-known in Christian circles, but thankfully we get new recordings from all of them instead of a rehash of popular songs that happen to fit the theme.
Exodus, a mostly instrumental piece with a little vocal help from MWS and a choir, leads off the project, with drums that remind me of a military march heralding the beginning of the song, leading into a straight ahead pop/rock tune that's typical of MWS's recent work. It's a decent blend of guitars and drums and a more grandiose, atmospheric, soundtrack type of song, and it piqued my interest about the instrumental album MWS has been planning to do for so long (and will finally be releasing soon).
My Will bleeds in with an acoustic guitar intro as the previous track fades out, and some very familiar voices chime in as the song unfolds - the guys from dc Talk. This song is a beautiful meditation on surrendering to God, set in a sweeping, unplugged setting that will definitely appeal to fans of their mellower material ("I Wish We'd All Been Ready", "What If I Stumble?", "Between You and Me", "In the Light", etc.) More march-style drums and a choir join in as the song builds to its climax, sort of reprising the first track, but not really. Given that Michael W. Smith had his hands in the production mix on most of these songs, it's not a surprise. Thankfully this collaboration between dc Talk and MWS works really well instead of the two musical powerhouses overwhelming each other's talents.
Needful Hands continues at the same tempo, not even missing a beat as it chimes in at the ending of "My Will". Jars of Clay is the featured group on this tune, and upon first listen, the lush acoustics and understated beats reminded me of a song in limbo between their first two albums. This song builds in a similar fashion to "My Will" as the Jars stop to meditate on how God meets the needs of undeserving sinners. There is an incredible beauty and freedom to this song - they nail the concept of grace with lines like "To find that I could fall/And still Your grace surrounds, pursuing". It may not get as much recognition as "Love Song for a Savior" or "Worlds Apart", but it's definitely one of the most moving songs they've ever written. The militant percussion and slightly electronic voice effects in the bridge seem out of place at first, but then you realize that it's the MWS influence once again, helping to tie the whole album together.
Brighten My Heart by Sixpence None the Richer is up next, and it is important to note that this was before the band hit it big with "Kiss Me", so their presence here gave them a bit of exposure to a new crowd. It falls in line with the mellow style of their 1997 self-titled album, except that it is perhaps a little more light and hopeful. The lyrics are based on a poem, and they adapt well into the music, especially in the second verse where lead singer Leigh Nash echoes lines like "My body is as tense as a cat as it stalks its prey" with the plea "Lord, relax my body." Anyone who has ever had a hard time sitting still long enough to even praying will probably identify with this song, and it's fitting to have Sixpence delivering it, because they are always very upfront about their doubts and spiritual struggles. It's worship for those who are having a hard time getting into the right frame of mind.
Make Us One breaks away from the acoustic-guitar dominated songs with a piano-based, etheral anthem that comes one step away from causing Enya to file a lawsuit against singer Cindy Morgan. Don't get me wrong - this is an awesome song about unity coming from an intelligent songwriter; probably one of the best songs of her career. It's just that it soars so high, and the vaguely Celtic rhythm and seemingly infinitely deep vocals (either Cindy has a lot of backup or she's been recorded over herself several times) hit a bit too close to home for anyone who's had even passing exposure to Enya. Just to drive the point home, you can faintly hear waves crashing at the end of this song, as if to imply that you have been transported to another world. (Perhaps this is a result of Michael W. Smith's seeming fascination with the Titanic movie, which affected a few of the songs on Live the Life as well.)
Nothin' is the shortest and most simplistic song on the record, performed by Chris Rice. Its theme is simple - it's almost a rewrite of the hymn "Nothing But the Blood". The repetitive nature of the lyrics really makes me wonder if Chris Rice wrote it for his youth group at some camp retreat (the youth group remains his priority despite his recent popularity in the CCM world). I'd almost prefer that he did write it for them and then decided it fit well when asked to contribute a song to Exodus. It comes off as more genuine and heartfelt that way - you can almost picture him sitting around a campfire, playing his guitar with a group of high-schoolers. I'm actually happy that this song is so musically simple - if you beefed it up with a more upbeat musical backdrop, it would sound like a Carman song.
Draw Me Close is a modern praise song that was already a standard in some churches before the new gospel/R&B group The Katinas performed it here. This was actually my introduction to the song, and they remain faithful to its melody, backing it with a simple beat and some slightly cheesy synthesized chords. It's very pretty, and easy to sing along with, but something about the best of this song just makes it drag along, which isn't good considering that it stretches for about five minutes. Still, I'm glad The Katinas chose to stick with a mellower style instead of trying to infuse it with a more urban flair as in some of their other songs - it would've ruined the mood.
Agnus Dei is an MWS classic re-interpreted in a wonderfully rocking fashion by Third Day. I'm sure that this version puts a smile on Smitty's face when he hears it, though it is very different from his original, boys' choir-led version from Go West Young Man. It begins and ends with a fiery, but reverent, jam session, that admittedly may disturb the mellower mood for some, but adds just the right dose of energy for me. I especially love the pause as lead singer Mac Powell takes a breath before delivering the chorus the second time around, and how the band plays with the chords a little bit for a killer, somewhat spontaneous, and very worshipful ending. This has become a concert favorite for many of their fans since it was recorded.
Salvation Belongs to Our God fades in afterwards, and Crystal Lewis takes the mic for a more standard worship song that I remember singing many times during my involvement with a Christian fellowship in college. The cheesy synthesizers are present again, this time a little more predominant than in "Draw Me Close", but not too obtrusive. The programming in the background is a little weird, but none of it stops Crystal Lewis from delivering a great vocal performance. She tweaks the melody around a little with her acrobatic improvization, but not too much - she seems to remember that she's worshipping and not just performing. A seeming host of backup singers joins her for the chorus - once again, MWS is making sure that similar elements keep the album flowing.
I See You finishes off the album, saving a great performance by Michael W. Smith himself for last. Surprisingly, it opens with a dreamy electric guitar solo that wouldn't be out of place on an Iona album, and then it leads into a driving, anthemic rendition of a song that the late Rich Mullins used to close his concerts with (a practice MWS picked up for a while since then). That pseudo-choir that Smitty likes so much joins him here, echoing his lines almost word for word, as if this song were designed for a call-and-response type worship setting (think "Victory Chant" in a more pensive setting and you'll get the idea). It's a decent fusion of Smith's more driven pop-rock and Mullins' mellow but brilliantly observant folk-rock, with some wonderful nature images to boot.
Listen carefully as the last song fades out, and then maybe let the CD wrap back around to the first track. You'll see that Smitty worked pretty hard to get this whole thing to fit together, which is also evident in the persistent, march-style drums and the virtual host of backup singers sprinkled throughout the album. Is it the perfect worship album? Well, that would be impossible. It's definitely a great worship album if you're in a more reflective mood and still want music with momentum. If you're looking for rocking renditions of the same old songs your church's worship band plays every Sunday morning, it'll only be so long before Petra gets around to it. If you're wary of a worship album centered around so many big-name artists, then you should know that all of them have been humble enough to depart a little from their usual sound (MWS included) and take part in putting together a cohesive project. Though not an MWS solo album, it is probably one of his best accomplishments to date, but then again, he would never have accomplished this on his own. It has its flaws and it drags at times if you're not in the right mood, but overall, this is a great album, and my only regret is that this was one of the albums that started a trend that has since been worn out.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: My Will, Needful Hands, Agnus Dei, Make Us One, I See You
Good: Brighten My Heart, Draw Me Close, Salvation Belongs to Our God, Exodus
Decent: Nothin'
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.