You have to love Christian marketing trends. (Well, actually, you don't, but you have to be at least mildly amused by them.) I'm sure some of you remember the extensive mass marketing that was centered around the catch phrase "What Would Jesus Do?", and I'm sure some of you have been wondering if we've finally seen the latest of spinoff books, accompaniment CD's, and assorted other products related to The Prayer of Jabez. Well, let me assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that those trends are now officially a thing of the past. There's a new cash cow in town. And its name is The Passion of the Christ.

Now I'll make one thing clear before I go about reviewing an album that was themed around, and released strategically close to, the Mel Gibson-produced movie that everyone's been talking about. I have nothing against the movie itself. I haven't seen it, personally, and don't plan to, mainly because I've never dealt with blood and gore in movies very well, even if there's a perfectly legitimate reason for showing it on screen in all of its unflinching reality. I admire what Mel Gibson set out to do. It's something worth making a movie about. But the simple fact is that whenever Christ catches the attention of the mainstream public, be it through a movie, a book, an openly religious celebrity, or pretty much any means, there will be numerous Christian-owned companies waiting to cash in on the ensuing craze. Everyone wants to be associated with the buzzword, after all. So you'll get things like books and CD's that aren't really affiliated, but are proud to refer to the popular attention-getter in some misleading way, so as to look "official". For better or worse, this is how Essential Records' new multi-artist worship project, The Christ: His Passion - Remembering the Sacrifice comes across to me.

The strange thing about this project is that it's actually a recasting of an older, well-known series of worship albums. What we essentially (no pun intended) have here is a rearranging of songs from the popular City on a Hill series, themed around the death and resurrection of Christ, with a few "new" tracks thrown in. I'd consider it a City on a Hill greatest hits disc, honestly, if in fact the best songs of the series had been included here. But instead, what we have is a haphazard shuffling, a permutation of mostly pre-existing songs that may fit together thematically, but clearly sound like they weren't meant to flow in a different order, musically speaking. Put quite simply, it's a mess. And it's a shame for a series that I once had some admiration for due to its unpretentious simplicity get dragged into syndication. I seem to remember the series' creators, Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong, telling us that the series was done after the release of last year's City on a Hill: The Gathering, because they didn't want to turn it into a commercial franchise. Um, yeah. Tell me another one, guys.

To be fair, there's a decent amount of good music on The Christ: His Passion. While I never found the City ona Hill series to be solid enough to justify purchasing a full album, I did catch wind of a lot of well-done, reverent worship songs that used their simplicity as an attribute, not a detriment. Often, the songs fit well around a central theme (they still do here), and it was usually a treat to hear artist duets (and trios and so forth) that would have probably been difficult to arrange on a "normal" CCM album. While having a lot of highly visible names in CCM involved may have inspired disgruntled comments from cynics (not to mention completist fans who now had to buy one or more of the albums to get tracks that their band/singer of choice contributed to), it always seemed to me that the artists were chosen in a way that fit the songs, and they weren't just there so that the series could boast, "Hey, look at all the cool people we have!" A fair amount of those collaborations are featured here as well - all three none-seasonal City albums are represented.

Stylistically, all of the ingredients are present for The Christ: His Passion to stand on its own as a thoughtful, intimate collection of mostly acoustic praise songs, with a few instrumental and/or traditional interludes to tie it all together. The main problem, and the thing that makes it obvious that this is a compilation of mostly older material, is that it isn't tied together well at all. It starts awkwardly, it ends awkwardly, and it doesn't keep such a great pace in the middle, either. I'll grant that this may not make as much difference to the average listener as it does to me, especially considering that the album seems to have been made with the intent of reaching out to non-Christians who may have been intrigued by the movie and will want to know more about Christ... but considering that the movie already has an official soundtrack, I just can't think of it as anything but slightly underhanded. "Look, this says Passion on it! Buy this instead!" Nonetheless, some of the disc is salvageable, so let's get to it.

I Remember You
And I remember that Your body was broken
And I remember that Your blood was spilled
I remember that You didn't have to do it...
This quiet, somber introduction by Mac Powell (from the band Third Day) is actually quite a haunting piece, and for more than one reason. It's little other than strings and Mac's voice (which is in fine form), and though it's a short piece, it sets the tone for the album reasonably well. It's a simple eulogy, remembering Christ's death on the cross and how He "defied death and ascended into the sky". For those who know the origins of the song, it's a bit of a tear-jerker because the song is a recasting of an older song by Adam Again, an early Christian alternative band whose founding member Gene Eugene passed away during the recording of the original City album, on which this track was featured. On that disc, it was used as a transition between two songs, one of which appears elsewhere on this album, and so it feels out of place as the lead track.

Jesus Went to the Garden
Jesus went to the mountain to bleed fro you and me
Jesus died on the mountain called Calvary
Why have You forsken me, my God, why have You forsaken me?
It seems that every City album had to have a track at or near the beginning of the disc that was a slow, acoustic-guitar based piece with the same rhythm and a similar chord structure. This would be the entry from the third City album, taking the formula that morphed "God of Wonders" into "Sing Alleluia", and beefing it up with perhaps one too many guest appearances to take seriously. I get the idea that all of those albums were meant to be seen as a gathering of singers and musicians to worship in unison, but it's a bit too much to hear Derri Daugherty (formerly of The Choir) trade off with Paul Colman, and then Dan Haseltine (lead singer of Jars of Clay), Sara Groves, Marc Byrd, and his wife Christine Glass (that duo being the ultra-dull GlassByrd). The voices seem to mesh together well enough, especially Dan's and Sara's, but all this really does is take the focus off of a rather hum-drum and repetitive song that loses all pretense of being different from "God of Wonders" near the end, when it actually repeats the "Lord of Heaven and Earth" line from that song. The lyrics, which trace Jesus' final hours from Gethsemane to Calvary to the tomb and beyond, could have made for an enjoyable sing-along in the vein of Rich Mullins' "Hope to Carry On", but as it is, it's a bit too heavy-handed and insistent on adhering to the formula.

Kyrie Eleison
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God
Have mercy on me, a sinner...
The angelic voice of Leigh Nash (lead singer of Sixpence None the Richer, may they rest in peace) joins in here, and even though you'd think she'd be well suited for a traditional, liturgical piece like this, it doesn't quite work. The background singers sound too nice and reserved, and the melody that composer Phil Madeira came up with to match the ancient Greek text is far more awkward than compelling. Fortunately, this holdover from The Gathering passes by in about a minute.

Marvelous Light
When we wander into valleys far from home
Where shadows hover over our souls
Find us in Your mercy, Savior of the world...
It's not a surprise to find this song, which has been on every installment of City on a Hill in one fashion or another, cropping up on this record as well. This particular recording hails from the second installment, Sing Alleluia, and it's led by former Caedmon's Call co-leader Derek Webb, with background vocals from none other than his wife, Sandra McCracken. The song was written by Steve Hindalong, but made to sound like more of a traditional, simplistic melody, and unfortunately that means it veers pretty close to being a Sunday School anthem during the chorus. The verses have a little more lyrical meat, and because of that it makes sense to hear Derek singing something with a more hymn-like flavor, but the clunky percussion and pointless bass interlude at the end don't really go with his style.

Were You There When the Sun Refused to Shine
Another short interlude comes up here - so far we're 3 for 2 in terms of interludes vs. actual songs! A brief string interlude leads into the soft sound of rain and thunder, and then a young girl named Maddy Madeira (likely Phil Madeira's daughter) sings a short snippet of an old hymn that never made much sense to me anyways (of course I wasn't there when Christ died, nor were you or anyone else who existed during or after the writing of the song!) I suppose it's cute in a little kid, grade-school-play sort of way, but it really doesn't fit on an album otherwise populated by contemporary adult singers.

Precious Jesus
As we drink from the cup of salvation, Your blood
We remember Your sacrifice
We remember the way that You suffered for us...
This Steve Hindalong composition was originally paired with "I Remember You" on the original City album, and since this song has a refrain of "I remember You, precious Jesus, I remember You", it would have made sense to keep the two songs together. Nonetheless, this song fares well on its own, retaining its simple beauty and relevance as it dutifully flows along in 3/4 time. The Choir (the band, that is), which is essentially Steve and Derri Daughtery, handle the vocal and instrumental leads here, while Leigh Nash offers a lovely counter-harmony. There are times when Derri's vocals seem a bit to measured, and one weird moment where his voice reminds me of Filter's song "Take a Picture", but aside from that, it's a memorable piece.

With Every Breath
When the night seems so long (throw your hands to the sky)
You can sing a new song (wipe the tears from your eyes)
He can heal your wounded soul and calm the storm inside...
Since Leigh Nash seems to be on a roll, another of her songs from the original City shows up here - the mid-tempo tunes would be getting tiring by this point if I wasn't already familiar with some of them. This song is simply about all of God's Creation rendering praise to Him, which is a similar theme to the classic "God of Wonders". It's one of the better songs to come from Marc Byrd in recent years, that's for sure. Dan Haseltine joins Leigh on backing vocals and they trade parts here and there - the tone of both singers is very soft and reverent, but still quite strong when the two voices blend together. I wouldn't mind hearing Leigh performing more material of this nature (though preferably original stuff) now that Sixpence is kaput.

Beautiful Scandalous Night
Follor Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner, sorry and wrecked by the fall...
A classic song by The Choir is reworked here, performed by (surprise!) Leigh Nash and folk singer Bebo Norman. It's a fairly standard reading of the song, not too dissimilar from how Smalltown Poets treated it a few years back, though there is a little bit of added instrumental flavor - a little cello here, a ceremonial, military-style drum rhythm there. Again, the voices mesh well - Leigh's wispy tone is interestingly matched to Bebo's more gruff, everyman approach. The song ends with church bells, which is another sonic trick that had already done to death by the time this track originally appeared on The Gathering.

Lamb of God (Agnus Dei)
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us...
It was kind of a misnomer to avertise the relatively new band Casting Crowns as being on this album, since their vocalists Mark Hall and Megan Garrett only appear here briefly, to back up Bebo Norman on another one of those odd, traditional-sounding interludes. It's one of few new recordings on the disc, and despite the lyrical repetition (which is expected for this sort of a liturgical song, but do we really need people in this day and age to write new ones?), it's actually got an extremely lovely melody, which works better for Bebo than you might expect. He does a sort of call-and-response thing with Mark and Megan that manages to stick in the brain despite its subtle nature.

Yes I Will
When I stumble in the darkness
In my weakness, when I feel afraid
Hear me, Jesus, when I call Your name...
I guess it was Bebo Norman's turn to be on a roll; this is the third consecutive track to feature him. Oddly enough, he got picked to record what ended up being the "single" from this project - an upbeat, toe-tapping duet with Joy Williams that shockingly enough, is more fast-paced than almost everything in Bebo's back catalogue. It's got a driving guitar rhythm that actually approaches rock territory once the electric guitars chime in - but nothing that ruins the overall mood of the album. It's a compelling enough song, expressing devotion and a figurative desire to be crucified with Christ. Since this track and the one before it were now, the producers were clearly able to put some thought into how the tracks blended together - something that I can't say for most of the rest of the montage.

Communion
Let us break the bread of life
Together take the cup of salvation...
The other vocalists from Caedmon's Call, Cliff Young and his wife Danielle Young, team up with renowned guitarist Phil Keaggy for a song about Christ's blood and body. It's pleasant enough, but not terribly memorable, and Phil Keaggy is criminally underused here. I'm glad when his voice breaks in near the end, since it adds some flavor to what would otherwise be no different than a below-average Caedmon's Call song. But if he's playing the guitar, he's not doing much other than the standard praise-and-worship strum. And then they throw in strings - why does that element always have to intrude on a collection of songs that is otherwise content in its organic nature?

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord
Phil Keaggy picks up where Maddy Madeira left off, offering us another two verses of the same perplexing hymn, backed by (thankfully) a brief taste of his delicate guitar picking. A full band joins in for the second verse, which is somewhat intrusive, but I wasn't all that attached to the song anyway, so I'm glad Phil was able to class it up for a little while.

The Stone
You are a sanctuary
A shelter and a shade from the heat of the day...
Jars of Clay gets the honor of closing out this album with one of the songs that they contributed to the first City album - a percussion-driven and fairly upbeat praise song written by independent artist Jonathan Noel. It's actually an interesting entry as far as Jars songs go, since it's based more on drums and Charlie Lowell's piano than the usual guitar, and since guitarist Steve Mason gets a rare turn at singing lead during the bridge (something I'd love to hear more of on their albums, as much as I love Dan). Thematically, it closes the album well, with its celebratory words about the stone being rolled away and the tomb being found empty, though the verse and chorus do get a bit repetitive by the song's end. The song ends rather abruptly in a trail of strings, which makes it a bad idea to use it as the last track from a musical perspective - that's something I think the album's producers could have worked on if they insisted on putting this thing out as a musical companion to the movie.

It's funny to realize how many songs I actually like from this album. Perhaps I would do well to go back and pick up the first City on a Hill or something, since that album contained most of the tracks that struck me as memorable here (plus the unforgettable "God of Wonders" and "This Road"). But despite the high quality of some of the songs, I can't bring myself to recommend this album. While the idea of making an alternate soundtrack available for non-Christians is admirable, and their research into Bible verses that accompanied the song was extensive (an "interactive" CD-ROM portion even features the Gospel of Mark in its entirety), it just seems like a cheap-shot to repackage previously released music in such a hurried manner. Realistically, this thing probably won't see the light of day in most stores that aren't specifically "Christian" stores, which means that most of the potential buyers are already Christians, and a lot of them are likely existing fans of the City on a Hill series who are now faced with the quandary of whether to buy this to get the few new tracks. (There's always iTunes, folks.) Even more confounding is the accouncement that this new disc, despite its recycled nature, is just the first part of a trilogy - The Christ: His Birth will show up in the fall (betcha that one will borrow liberally from the Christmas edition of City on a Hill), with The Christ: His Life to follow next spring. Somebody needs to explain to these guys the meaning of the phrase, ENOUGH ALREADY!

So yeah, don't buy this. Buy one of the original City albums if you're really into this sort of multi-artist worship thing, or if you want a well-made album of original material to help get you in a contemplative mood for Easter, pick up Cindy Morgan's The Loving Kind. If you absolutely must own something with the word "Passion" on it, there are plenty of Passion worship albums, a series which predates the movie, on the market for your consumption.

ALBUM WORTH:
I Remember You $1
Jesus Went to the Garden $.50
Kyrie Elieson $0
Marvelous Light $1
Were You There When the Sun Refused to Shine -$.50
Precious Jesus $1.50
With Every Breath $2
Beautiful Scandalous Night $1
Lamb of God (Agnus Dei) $.50
Yes I Will $1
Communion $0
Were You There When They Crucified My Lord $.50
The Stone $1.50
Penalty for using previously released material: $2.25
Total: $7.75

CONCLUSION: You'd be better off with any of the City on a Hill albums.

Website: http://www.thechristhispassion.com

Recommended: No

Great Music to Play While: Reading or Studying