Artist: Hillsong
Album: Might to Save
Label: Integrity
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
by John Brandon, EIC (christrock.com)
Every Hillsong release rises quickly to the top of my CD stack, and this one is a prime example. Catchy, sing-able, and worship-rich, Might to Save is one of the best yet.
Get me plane ticket to Sydney: I want to see Hillsong Church someday. This latest offering, recorded live at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in March in front of 10,000, is like a greatest hits of the most recent Hillsong releases, including some from United (the church youth group) and Hillsong London (the church plant).
Okay, so what makes these songs so worshipful and God-focused? Well, that's something I can't easily explain. Hillsong and Vineyard both tend to capture the essence of a live performance without seemingly any effort. The song "From the Inside Out," which appears on the last United release, is a great example where – man, the song itself is perhaps not structured in a recognizable way so that it seems like a "hit" song and there's not as much energy as a Newboys outing. But it has a spiritual center that makes you want to listen, understand what they are singing about, and even join along. It has a way of building in the same way that a Starsailor or U2 song have this orchestrated exhuberance.
The lead track (Take It All) is maybe more of a "hit" in that the line "take, take, take it all" sticks in your head. Still, while there's tons of energy, United is probably a little more over the top. Hillsong's main releases tend to be more adult-contemporary, and there's quite a few tracks here that are slower and more methodical. Yet, by the closing title track song, you know that you are in good hands with Darlene Zschech, Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, and Marty Sampson leading you to the cross, one step at a time. This song in particular just gets me every time: that what Christ did for us was not just an accident, but He had the full intention of saving us, and the strength and power to back it up.
My only slight grumbling (and it's slight) is that I'm still looking for a song that grabs you as much as Everyday did so long ago and makes you want to learn it, play it, and sing it in church. Mighty to Save has songs that certainly come close to that kind of drop-everything catchiness, though.
Artist: Hillsong
Album: Might to Save
Label: Integrity
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
by John Brandon, EIC
Every Hillsong release rises quickly to the top of my CD stack, and this one is a prime example. Catchy, sing-able, and worship-rich, Might to Save is one of the best yet.
Get me plane ticket to Sydney: I want to see Hillsong Church someday. This latest offering, recorded live at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in March in front of 10,000, is like a greatest hits of the most recent Hillsong releases, including some from United (the church youth group) and Hillsong London (the church plant).
Okay, so what makes these songs so worshipful and God-focused? Well, that's something I can't easily explain. Hillsong and Vineyard both tend to capture the essence of a live performance without seemingly any effort. The song "From the Inside Out," which appears on the last United release, is a great example where – man, the song itself is perhaps not structured in a recognizable way so that it seems like a "hit" song and there's not as much energy as a Newboys outing. But it has a spiritual center that makes you want to listen, understand what they are singing about, and even join along. It has a way of building in the same way that a Starsailor or U2 song have this orchestrated exhuberance.
The lead track (Take It All) is maybe more of a "hit" in that the line "take, take, take it all" sticks in your head. Still, while there's tons of energy, United is probably a little more over the top. Hillsong's main releases tend to be more adult-contemporary, and there's quite a few tracks here that are slower and more methodical. Yet, by the closing title track song, you know that you are in good hands with Darlene Zschech, Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, and Marty Sampson leading you to the cross, one step at a time. This song in particular just gets me every time: that what Christ did for us was not just an accident, but He had the full intention of saving us, and the strength and power to back it up.
My only slight grumbling (and it's slight) is that I'm still looking for a song that grabs you as much as Everyday did so long ago and makes you want to learn it, play it, and sing it in church. Mighty to Save has songs that certainly come close to that kind of drop-everything catchiness, though.
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