Dig in Deep

Last time I reviewed some of my favorite worship CDs. This time I’m going to review some of the worship CDs that I’ve purchased over the last year or so.

David Crowder Band – Remedy (2007)
Buy from: ChristianBook.com – iTunes – Amazon
This album is different for David Crowder because it doesn’t have a lot of the one minute interludes that his previous albums have had. That’s not necessarily positive or negative, just different. Overall, this one has more worship-friendly songs than A Collision had on it. “The Glory of It All” and “O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” particularly shine out. I actually find the version of “Everything Glorious” a little too mellow compared to the initial release of the song that was recorded live off of Passion’s Everything Glorious release. “Neverending” has the potential to be a good worship rocker (like “No One Like You”). But all of the songs that wouldn’t make really great worship songs are still very solid. Par for the David Crowder course – which is a very good thing.

Fee – We Shine (2007)
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Steve Fee has been around for awhile. He’s best known for “We Are Hungry” from Passion’s The Road To One Day release (the only studio recording Passion CD), and he also wrote “Madly,” which was performed by Charlie Hall on Passion’s Our Love Is Loud. He’s also been on most of the 7|22 recordings (one of which I mentioned last time). But this CD is very different from his earlier recordings, which were actually quite mellow. We Shine has its mellow moments, but on the whole this is one rockin’ worship CD. “All Because of Jesus” utilizes some really cool delay guitar throughout – very fun to play, by the way. (And just completely ignore the Casting Crowns version – go straight to the original Steve Fee version!) “We Shine” drives right along, an awesome anthem song for any rock and roll crowd. “Glorious One” is the first ballad on the disk, and has a bit of a rock/country feel to it. “Beautiful the Blood” is more in line with Fee’s earlier works, though much more intense in execution, and lyrically far surpasses just about anything I’ve ever heard from him. Fee’s cover of “Happy Day” rivals Tim Hughes’ original. And just about all of the othe cuts on the disc are worthwhile to listen to, and many worth considering for worship use. If you’re a worship leader, I highly recommending picking up this entire CD. One thing to note – Steve Fee is much better live than on his recordings. If you have the opportunity to see him live, do so!

Glory Revealed (2007)
Buy from: ChristianBook.com – iTunes – Amazon
This is one of the more original worship albums released in recent years. This project was the brainchild of Mac Powell and author David Nasser. Like City on a Hill, it’s a collaboration of a lot of artists, including Mac Powell (Third Day), Shane & Shane, Brian Littrel, Shawn Lewis (Hyper Static Union), Tim Neufield (Starfield), Mark Hall (Casting Crowns), David Crowder, Candi Pearson-Shelton, Josh Bates, and yes, Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith. The entire CD is done in Americana folk/bluegrass style, with guitars, mandolins, violins, and percussion usually being beating on boxes or cases. All of the songs are written out of scripture, and are theologically rich and unique in their expression. It’s a cross between City on a Hill, Enter the Worship Circle, and O Brother, Where Art Thou. There are so many standout songs on this album, but particularly “He Will Rejoice” (Tevor Morgan), “To the Only God” (David Crowder and Shane & Shane), “Glory Revealed” (Candi Pearson-Shelton), “Who Is Like You” (Tim Neufield), and “Restore to Me” (Mac Powell and Candi Pearson-Shelton). This has become one of my favorite worship albums ever.

Hillsong – Mighty to Save (2006)
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I picked up this CD mainly to get Hillsong’s versions of “From the Inside Out” and “Mighty to Save” (both awesome songs). But this CD is a lot better than earlier Hillsong recordings. One thing that has always bugged me about Hillsong recordings is that it’s hard to pick out the melody and lyrics – they tended to take the “everybody singing” approach to the songs. This recording has less of that feel, and shows that Hillsong is taking a lot of influence from the Hillsong United projects – which is a very good thing. Nothing stands out as much as the songs I bought the project for, though. But I’ll be paying more attention to Hillsong releases in the future.

Hillsong United – Look to You (2005)
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I’m glad that the Hillsong United team (which leads the youth worship at Hillsong) decided to start doing their own recordings, because the quality of songs and execution are about as high as you could hope for. This project has a lot of great songs on it. “Salvation is Here” has been picked up by a lot of churches already, but “Tell the World” and “Shout Unto God” are seriously worth your consideration. Some of the songs remind me of the Vineyard 1000 Generations CD, including “Look to You,” “All I Need Is You” and “There Is Nothing Like.” Many of these songs are growing on me. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ended up being one of my favorites.

Kristian Stanfill – Hello EP (2007)
Buy from: iTunes – North Point Resources
I’ve always loved Kristian Stanfill’s voice, and I think he comes across very well in studio recordings. Kristian was introduced to the world via his version of “Jesus Paid It All” on Passion’s Everything Glorious. This is just an EP, but it shows a lot of potential for a full-length recording. “Spring of Life” is an awesome song, and Stanfill’s vocal reminds me of Tonic’s Emerson Hart (Lemon Parade is one of my favorite albums of all time). His version of “From the Inside Out” is the best I’ve heard yet. “Beautiful Jesus” is a great song as well. The studio recording of “Jesus Paid It All” is good, but not quite as good as his live version. But Kristian is a worship leader to watch for – I’m interested to see if he can release a full CD that is as consistently high quality as this EP.

Leeland – The Sound of Melodies (2006)
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This album introduces a very unique sound to worship music. Leeland Mooring’s voice is simply incredible, and his songwriting is equally awesome. The only problem? His voice is too good – his songs require too much of a range for congregational singing. But this is one awesome CD, definitely worth picking up, and very inspiring. Mooring is young (only 17 when this album was recorded), and has a lot of potential ahead of him. Highlights include “Sound of Melodies,” “Reaching,” “Tears of the Saints,” “Beautiful Lord,” and “Can’t Stop.”

The Best of Lincoln Brewester – Let the Praises Ring (2006)
Buy from: ChristianBook.com – Amazon
I’ve not been a huge fan of Lincoln Brewster songs on the radio, primarily because by the time he came out with “Shout to the Lord” I was already quite tired of the song, and not even Brewster’s version could refresh it for me. But this CD is actually pretty good, since it’s a “best of” CD. First of all, his version of “Everlasting God” is my favorite. Other notable cuts include “Everybody Praise the Lord,” “Majestic,” his version of Paul Baloche’s “All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises,” and his version of “You Are Good.”

Pocket Full of Rocks – Song to the King (2006)
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My brother showed me a Pocket Full of Rocks DVD a few years ago – quite amazing, many of the songs on the DVD were done spontaneously, and most of their songs were first written by spontaneously singing them during worship. This CD includes many of the songs off of that DVD, recorded in the studio. The studio recordings don’t lose any of the passion and intensity that they have when leading worship. Like Leeland Mooring, lead singer Michael Farren’s voice has a range a little too high for congregational singing, but these songs are a little easier to adapt. Highlights include “The Welcome Song,” “Now I Sing,” and a live recording of “Let It Rain,” where you can get a feeling for how they are live. But really every song on this CD is excellent.

Worship Project H214 (2005)
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This is a unique collaboration/compilation project, featuring Lincoln Brewster, Jared Anderson (Desperation Band), Laura Story, Eoghan Heaslip, and Michael Gungor. There are several cuts here that I haven’t heard anywhere else, that are really useful, including “Let Your Name Be Glorified,” “There is Nothing,” “All Praise,” and “Glory.” It also includes Lincoln Brewster’s “Majesty” and “All The Earth Will Sing Your Praises.” It’s an all-around great worship CD.

Worship Project P403 (2005)
Buy from: ChristianBook.com
This sequel features Lamont Hiebert, Jason Morant, Dave Lubben, Glenn Packiam, Abby Merkel, and Dave Chatel. Most impressive on this disc are the renditions of U2’s “40″ and Newsboys’ “He Reigns,” both of them altered to the point where they’re useful for congregational worship. The rest of the songs are good, overall the H214 project is far better.