Album Review - Gateway Worship's God Be Praised!

Gateway Worship's last album, Wake Up The World, was a critical and commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. And why not - their fresh re-imaginings of the Doxology and Klaus' The Lord Reigns (one of my favourite praise songs of all time) literally energized the praise and worship landscape and helped introduce younger worshippers to the good ol' hymns of faith.

God Be Praised attempts the same award-winning formula, but (in my opinion) with a more mixed bag of results.

The opening songs God Is With Us Now and Praise Him are upbeat, declarative numbers that are easy to sing and praise along to. The album then segues into the mid-tempo Victory, which I have to admit I didn't like at first. I've since used it on Sunday as part of our worship setlist, mainly because there is so much meaning in the simple but powerful lyrics (also because my pastor made me do it). The congregation can really worship with this song, and I suppose that means it's purpose is well-served.

Song #4 is one that you can also hear on Klaus' brilliant album Glory. And this is where there's some contention. Rebecca Pfortmiller's interpretation of Stay Amazed is not without merit - the song is well arranged and I really liked the way the song ended, with a 'big' bridge. But having heard both versions, I can't help getting the feeling that the Gateway version simply tries too hard. They changed the melody of parts of the chorus and bridge, which I still can't get used to after repeated listens. Maybe I'm too used to the Klaus version, but the new melody line grates on the ears somewhat. Rebecca Pfortmiller has a great voice, but after a while it feels like she's yelling the song and not really singing it.

It's not bad - I guess Klaus set such a high standard that anything else just falls short in comparison. Do youself a favour and pick up a copy of Klaus' Glory - it's simply one of the best worship albums I've ever heard. But I digress.

O For A Thousand (Hallelujah) is a re-write of the old hymn O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing. I love hymns, and I really enjoy it when worship leaders re-write them for the modern context and give them a new lease of life. This is an good example of how to do it right - with a new chorus that doesn't detract from the beauty of the original verses, but fits in perfectly. It's not as impressive as New Doxology was on Wake Up The World, but it is good nonetheless.

There are some really standout tracks on this album, like O The Blood and You Are For Me, both led by Kari Jobe. O The Blood is a brilliantly written song that remembers and exalts Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. You Are For Me should be familiar to Kari Jobe fans - it was the closing song on her self-titled album, and since then, there've been various iterations of the song, each one better than the last. This is the first time the song has been recorded in a live context, and it's simply electric to hear the congregation worship along to this magnificent song of faith.

Some of the mid-album tracks are not as memorable as those I've mentioned so far - they're kind of generic, and don't have the enduring quality of The Lord Reigns or Alabaster Jar from the earlier album.

And then there are songs that will split listeners into 2 camps - Love It or Hate It. For example, One Single Drop is a classical guitar and strings driven songs that has a somewhat Latin flavour to it, and has the potential to be incredibly cheesy. It probably works better as a performance song than as part of a worship setlist. I Hear The Lord Passing By is an old school, Don Moen-ish number that works great as an altar/response song, but again it's probably better off as a performance piece than as part of worship.

For the record, I neither love nor hate both songs because I'm such an objective album reviewer. =)

The album closer is the title track God Be Praised. It's a huge, declarative song in the vein of such classics as Hillsong's Mighty To Save and Desperation Band's Overcome.

Overall, I'm guessing that the album will likely please most listeners, but there'll be some who'll be slightly disappointed. I probably fall into the latter category - I don't dislike the album, I just don't have enough reasons to love it. Other than a few standout tracks, the rest of the album feels slightly bland and predictable, and doesn't quite pack the punch that Wake Up The World had.

Their style of worship doesn't deviate much from the previous album though, and that's a good thing. There are at least 6 difference worship leaders on this album, and all sound unique. This helps inject some freshness into the songs and gives the album as a whole a bit of a boost.

So here's my final verdict:

It's still an album that worth getting - there are some great congregational songs in there which I have no doubt will be sung in churches around the world.

Here's O The Blood and the album opener God Is With Us Now for your sampling pleasure:









Next review - Soul Survior + Momentum: Light The Sky! Also getting my hands on Bethel's Love Came Down soon! Look out for these reviews and more!

Album Review - The Afters' Light Up The Sky!

The Afters have a knack for writing songs that are both straightforward and incredibly catchy.

Light Up The Sky is an incredible pop-rock offering from the band that is destined for extended airtime in your car stereo and/or iPod. Marrying a modern OneRepublic-esque vibe with irresistably catchy lyrics and melodies, LUTS is one of those albums you fall in love with at first listen, and can't get enough of for quite a while.

In a day and age when singers and songwriters all seem to be trying to outdo each other in writing the most artistic and difficult to comprehend lyric, LUTS is a breath of fresh air in its lyrical simplicity and honesty. There's no need to scratch your head and wring every ounce of brain juice trying to decipher what they're singing about. The message of each song is clear and unmistakable.

What really carries this album though, are the vocal and music arrangements. Josh Havens' voice has a distinct edge to it that's never unpleasant, and when he switches to falsetto (which happens pretty frequently in this album) it only serves to add emotion to the lyric. Coupled with modern rock beats, driving guitars, and the occasional piano riffs, LUTS has 'radio-friendly hits' written all over it.

In fact, I was in my car the other day with a couple of colleagues, and this album was playing. My colleagues were instantly drawn to the music (the title track was playing I think) and I had the opportunity to introduce the band and album to them ("Are you serious?" one of them said, "they're called The Afters? Like, not before, but after?").

Here's the official music video of the title track - which, I have to say, almost made me cry, especially towards the end:






Here's another standout track from the album:






All in all, this is one album I won't hesistate to recommend.









I daresay that these songs will stick with you for quite a while, even after you've stopped the CD.

Here's an idea: if you have a pre-believing friend whom you're trying to share the love of God with, but haven't been able to do so, you could consider gifting this album to him/her. The music is relevant enough to catch their attention, and the lyrics are simple and meaningful enough so you can start a God-centered conversation with them. In fact, I think I might just try this myself...