[Free Song Download "God Is Here" from Darlene Zschech- see at the bottom of the review.]
We all know the song "Shout to the Lord". We all know that Darlene Zschech was its author and that she was the well-known face and voice of Hillsong Australia worship leadership for two decades. After hearing she would be putting out a new live worship album, I was interested to hear it. Later, I heard Israel Houghton would be producing and I knew it would be a stellar musical experience. Well, I finally listened to the album. WOW!
Houghton's production and Zschech's voice would be enough for a great musical experience, but that is just the beginning here! In addition to combing the talents of these two musical Grammy winners, this album contains great songwriting/co-writing efforts, great guest vocals and the entire project is wrapped up in Darlene's genuine gifting as a worship leader. I went through this album several times. At first, I was just listening for great songs. But you can't listen long to this project before you are pulled (or hurled may be a better metaphor) into all out praise, celebration and worship.
Right from the first track, Darlene jumps into her trademark declarative, yet worshipful posture as one who is heralding an entire congregation to lift Jesus high and to acknowledge that "God Is Here". I was expecting to have to dig into the album before hitting the deep groove and great choruses, but no way! "God Is Here" is infectious and courageous-- a kind of call-to-worship song that is destined to be one of the new songs the global church will sing. Unashamed and anthemic, this song isn't fluffy proclamation, but is a powerful reflection of the Lord's prayer put into emphatic song calling on the Holy Spirit to open the gates of heaven, bring His Kingdom and His glory. The bridge is a powerful compliment to the verse/chorus prayer and answer pairing- it humbly ascents the powerful truth echoed by every creature or human to encounter the unshielded presence of the Living God as they sing "Holy, we cry holy. Hallelujah God is here!". Really, folks, this is a truly great song. A wonderful co-write by Darlene, Israel and Phil Wickham. Check this one out! You won't be disappointed!
Track 2, "Best For Me", is a rocket ship that takes off from the launch pad that "God Is Here" ends with! Israel and Meleasa Houghton write this driving song of worship, surrender and testimony and it is has all the energy you'd expect from an upbeat song from Israel. Moving into "All That We Are", another Israel co-written song with more "oohs" and lots of pop, driving bass and infectious melodies. Like many songs on this album, there is a great pop-choral backdrop to these vocals, often singing "ooohs" but doing great BGVs on all the songs is a list of stellar voices - and they sound amazing on this album.
Track 4, "In Jesus' Name", is the fourth upbeat song in the upfront section of this project and it doesn't let up the great music and melodies. Another great song from Darlene and Israel. What is most powerful about this song, though, is Darlene's amazingly personal and poignant interjection at around 5:30 in this track. Vamping down temporarily into the song bridge, she starts speaking about letting the words and scripture sink in deep to the hearts of people, letting them become prayers. And she does just that, she encourages people to let the words be sung over them. It is an unnerving song to listen to at this point. Darlene does with this song something more than affect, but tugs at the eternal longing in all of us for the consummation of God's kingdom in fullness, in a way that is reminiscent of what CS Lewis spoke about in The Weight of Glory
"In speaking of this desire...I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both."1
With this song, Darlene opens up the listener to this kind of surrender and opportunity to connect and understand the nearness of God and His desire for His people. As someone who has been touched by the pain of cancer in the lives of people I love, this song made me come to tears as I prayed for family and friends who are suffering from physical sickness and pain. I found this song to be a sound track for such prayer, asking for God's healing and calling on him for resolution of His kingdom to defeat such pain in our lives.
With the fifth track, the album takes an steep and intentional decrescendo from tempo and volume only, not from excellence. "Your Presence is Heaven To Me" is one of my favorite songs on this project. After the first four songs, you are ready for something "down", and this song is just as endearing, in its own way, as the others that have come before. Like many of the other tracks, Israel's voice takes temporary lead on a phrase and stanza here and there, making this seem much less of a "solo" project than the title of the album might imply. This song is another Israel Houghton songwriting effort along with Micah Massey. The music and lyrics are perfectly matched, as they sing plaintiff surrender in the verse into anthemic thanks in the chorus :
Nothing in this world can satisfy
'Cause Jesus You're the cup that won't run dry
Oh Jesus You're the cup that won't run dryOh Jesus Your presence is heaven to me
Oh Jesus Your presence is heaven to me
"Victor's Crown" is the next track and becomes the biggest anthem on this album. Starting softly, it builds into gigantic declaration of sound and lyrics that ascends to pray in mid song that anything that comes against Christ will be brought down in light of seeing Christ receive his victor's crown. This song adds a huge drum part, a gorgeous strings section and emphatic bridge declaring "You will overcome" to Christ. Very good!
After listening through half the album, you might be tempted to believe that the good songs are all done. You'd be wrong! This project contains an unbelievably well arranged, played and integrated set of songs that are comprised of an older Hillsong repertoire song (Magnificent, track 8), a rearranged hymn (My Jesus, I Love Thee, track 9), an excellent modern chorus (Your Name/P.Baloche, track 10), a deep worship song (I Am Yours/MW Smith, track 11) and a great closing song (Jesus At The Center/Houghton, track 12). If you have the special CD/DVD limited version of this it also includes versions of "Shout to the Lord" and "Agnus Dei"!
I would have to write pages more to completely explain this album. Instead, I can just give this recommendation. Go now. Get it. Really. I thought I had already heard some great albums this year, but this one is simply on another level in both musical production and a complete worship experience. This album easily gets my nod as "Editor's Choice Album" and is currently my top candidate for this years best album. I can't imagine anything beating it out, but it is still early in the year. But don't take my word for it- go listen to the audio samples online.
For churches using WorshipTeam.com, all of the songs, chord charts, lyrics and audio from this album 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/Zamvy2
Additionally, our friends at Integrity Music have also granted us permission to give you access to the audio and chord chart for the song "God Is Here" as a free download for a limited time directly here, so you will find it below.
Go check out this album folks. I am not kidding. It's ballistic.
Worshiping God!
Kim Gentes
Free Song Download "God Is Here" from the latest Darlene Zschech album "Revealing Jesus"
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1. Lewis, C. S. (2009-06-03). Weight of Glory (Collected Letters of C.S. Lewi) (Kindle Locations 298-302). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.