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Music Reviews (by Kim Gentes)

Back in the mid-90's Kim began writing impromptu reviews of church music CDs (worship music) so that people who were looking for CDs would have an opinion from someone who is also a worship leader and is garnering music for local church use.  Up to this point, this was rarely something that was done, because church music was revered as sacred and it was thought that any offering of that sacred worship shouldn't be criticised or evaluated.  In fact, Kim wasn't as much a critic as he was an evaluator, helping people find what fit their church. He began posting his reviews on line in a email discussion forum, called the Worship List (website).  After a while, when he helped launch Worshipmusic.com, he continued that same concept of trying to help other local church worship leaders and musicians find music that might be applicable to their situations.  The reviews continued to be a part of that. Worshipmusic.com went on to grow a staff of writers that would add many more reviews to the collection they have, but Kim continued to participate as a key reviewer.  This journal logs all the reviews Kim has written on worship music CDs and projects.

Kim's reviews of CD projects of worship music includes independents, label and main stream recordings, but all having to do with worship music.

Entries in vineyard uk (2)

The Fire - Samuel Lane (2013)

[Free Song Download "O My Soul" from Samuel Lane- see at the bottom of the review.]

With subtle motion and smooth tones begins the "The Fire". Like the starting crackle of a freshly lit hearth, this is how Samuel Lane begins to fuel the fire that is this new album from Vineyard Records UK. The intro song, "Take Me With You", doesn't rip a hole out of your speakers. Rather than pouring gasoline onto a bursting bonfire, it sparks, rumbles and gently ignites the rhythms, vocals and instruments that will build into a warm and engaging experience of songs and lyrics that call out passionately to God.

Rolling from that into "Fiery Love", Sam takes the intensity up ever so slightly, building the anticipation nicely from the intro song into this prayer language song, which calls out:

Lift me from my grave and hold me up
With hands that hold the stars, with fiery love
Holy Spirit come, and light me up
With hands that hold the stars, with fiery love

The song rises to a powerful thundering of passion before receding into track three, "O My Soul". Here, Lane ebbs this project back to a rumbling and humble surrender of worship, with dynamics and rhythms that perfectly fit the song lyrics. And this peeks engagingly into big refrains of "Oh my soul, praise, praise Him!" Wonderful!

And so it goes with this album-- ebb, flow, rise, refrain, response, recede and restart the progression. This is not a formula, it seems, for Samuel Lane. It feels more like a discourse of authentic prayers, each one drawing closer to the person of God and surrendering more deeply the person of the worshiper. I have to admit, I was struck by the intimate language and conversational approach that Lane takes on some of these songs. But it is not a nonchalant cavalierism that reduces worship to a "Jesus-is-my-boyfriend" song collection. This is serious, but intimate. God is great, yet He is near. He is the Father which calls and invites us, and Lane has given us real language and theological strength that hold the tension of humanity and its broken, suffering children seeking a holy and mighty God, who deigns to call Himself Father to each of us.

Musically, this project stays tethered to the acoustic foundation that would place Lane in his living room, strumming and picking his guitar. Several songs swell with electric and rhythmic sensibilities and instrumentation. Some songs drift completely into country, even blue-grass/roots sounds complete with banjo and steel string guitars and brushes on the snare drum. But rock is never completely shut out of these tracks. "You Are With Us", "Lead Me Home", and "Glorious" remind us that Vineyard music, both in the US and abroad, has its origins in the rock generation of the 60s, 70's and 80's, whose anthemic soaring progressions still beat in the musical heart of the modern church.

In a way, this album is the most deeply "Vineyard" project I have heard in a very long time. Certainly, it has nuances of the church movement's musical heritage (along with the modern touch of "Mumford & Sons" splattered occasionally). But more than that, this project harkens back to the days when Vineyard music was the vanguard of intimate prayer language in the global church's worship song repertoire. Lane unlocks something reminiscent of John Wimber in his sensibilities and clarity about how scripture can collide with music. And he revisits the eloquence of rhythm and voice that Scott Underwood brought to the mid-90's through his songs and recordings. But at the core of this album's "Vineyard-esque" traits is the lyrical canvas that Samuel Lane paints on- unafraid of our relationship with God the Father, Holy Spirit and Jesus the Son.

I enjoyed this album immensely. And each listen has only increased my appreciation for Lane and love of these songs. After 4 complete journeys through this album, I can tell you there is a lot here and many more hours to spend. Treasures were spent gathering this album together and there are treasures more to be found for anyone willing to listen completely through this entire journey of intimacy, honesty, prayer, surrender, rhythm and joy. One of the best thematically based albums I have experienced in the last 10 years.

For churches looking for great worship songs, I have two suggestions to start with from this album. First is "Father", the fourth track on this album. It is one of the most arresting lyrical prayers I have heard put to a sonic pallette. Truly engaging and easy to place in the deepest part of your intimate worship sets. Second, is the building and upbeat song "You Are With Us". This song is a rolling celebration of God's immanence and the joy of assurance that comes with being in the very presence of the very God. Really, this is a very good song and deserves a listen by almost every congregation doing modern worship styled songs.

Because of the strong songs, excellent thematic elements and seamless threading of all musical elements from top to bottom, this album gets my endorsement as the latest awarded "Editor's Choice". Don't hesitate to get this project, try it with your church band and use these songs!

For churches using WorshipTeam.com, all of the songs, chord charts, lyrics and audio are already available and pre-loaded for you in the WorshipTeam.com system song database. If you are not part of WorshipTeam.com and want to listen to audio samples or purchase the album directly yourself, see the Amazon link below.

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/15u2Z9A

 

worshiping Him!

Review by Kim Gentes

 

Free Song Download "O My Soul" from Samuel Lane

O My Soul
by Samuel Lane

Note: To save the PDF or MP3 files
above [Right-Mouse] click the links.

Many thanks to my friends at Integrity Music / Vineyard Music UK for allowing us to offer this free song download for a limited time.  KG..

Hungry / Vineyard UK - Brian Doerksen, Brenton Brown & Kathryn Scott (1999)

There may be no other CD in the last 20 years that better epitomises the modern worship movement than the March 1999 release of Vineyard UK's "Hungry". Produced by songwriter/worship leader Brian Doerksen, this now classic project contains not only a brilliant cast of leaders, musicians and voices but hosts a track list of some of the most popular songs sung in the Christian church worldwide. From the title track Hungry to the pounding Your Name Is Holy, to the beautiful Humble King, to the yearning Be The Centre and finally to what is perhaps the most recorded worship song in the last 30 years, Breathe - each song has become a staple in the modern worship liturgy of the last 15 years.

The songwriting, the musical prowess, the live energy and just the right of production brought this album to platinum success, making it the best selling album ever for Vineyard Music. But what reverberated across the tracks of this amazing recording was not just the notes and rhythms of music. It was the sound of prayer-filled liturgy, embodied in an authentic music expression. Something of the desparate calls of God's people was accurate about these songs. They struck a chord (no pun intended) with millions of people- that we could call out in our hour of need, and that God himself was listening and would answer. We are hungry. He is the bread of life for a starving world.

This juxstaposition is woven in the fabric of these songs, and presented in a rhythmic flow that is easily missed.  Even the track list gives it away- our humanity laid out as we sing Hungry, then God's perfection declared in the triumph of Your Name is Holy.   The prayerful Humble King in which we yearn for God to "show me how much You love humility", then the proclamation of There's No One Like Our God. The request that God Make Your Home In Me with the answer in the foundational truth of the Child Of God. This is the ebb and flow of this album: humanity embodied in prayerful calls; scriptural truth responding with God's nearness and promises. In this manner, Hungry (the album) becomes a living, breathing conversation that we can all enjoin. With it's backdrop of occasional celtic flutes, violin hints and ethereal treatments, the album brings the listener from "any generic album" to a sound that respects its voice from the nuances of the cultures of the UK.

In addition to all the above, the fact that Hungry is a live album places it as one of the iconic live recordings in the genre. Kevin Prosch's Even So Come, Michael W. Smith's Worship album's, Ron Kenoly's Lift Him Up, Vineyard's The River Is Here, WorshipTogether's Revival Generation: 12 Songs That Rocked A Nation and Passion's Better Is One Day are some of the other great live worship projects that have marked a move forward in musical prowess and capturing of great live worship experiences. Hungry takes its place among these recordings.

If you haven't have the opportunity to review this great project, here are some brief samples of the track list.  Better yet, if you do get a chance, buy this project as an MP3 album (or CD if you like) and gather in an important marker in the modern worship narrative (link to amazon at the bottom). If you aren't already using many of these songs, there will be some new gems for you to discover. Enjoy!

Amazon Product Link  Hungry / Come Now Is the Time (2 Albums in One)

 

Review by Kim Gentes