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 Live In The Spirit (1)
The Well: Live In The Spirit - Langley Vineyard (1999)
Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 2:04PM 
It has been a while since a worship CD has really surprised me. I have heard lots of good music, and excellent worship examples. About 5 days ago, we got a new CD into our warehouse. The shipment of CDs came from our Canadian friends. The CD is the first project released out of the Langely Vineyard church in 6 years. This is the same church that gave us a parade of songwriters and worship leaders like Andy Park, Brian Doerksen, Craig Musseau, Daphne Radmaker, Loralee Theissen, and on and on. But the heritage of worship has only grown in Langely, this new release makes that point very vividly.
I'll be honest, my first listen to this CD had me rolling my eyes thinking 'yikes, this is too far'. But over the last several days I have listened to the CD over and over again. The more I listen, the more I really am being captivated into worship by this project. Let me be very clear- this is all out gen-x worship. At times, it seems more 'gen-x' than anything else, but it all goes with who's listening. The opening 2 cuts are excellent style and musicianship, reaching to God with a gritty, full sound, but wrapped in the warmth of real worship. Make NO MISTAKE- this project is unparallelled with production and musicianship for an indie 'LIVE' project. This is world class stuff on the praise & worship scene. After complaining about all the studio indies I was hearing, I was delighted to finally hear a live indie! It is clear that the efforts of Philip Janz, producer, have completed this CD as the new high-water mark for cutting edge praise & worship.
I remember listening to the TFH release by Brian Doerksen 'Light The Fire Again'. I remember thinking- 'who are they kidding, how many worship teams will be able to play like this'. The more I listened to Light The Fire Again, the more I saw the incredible usefulness of the songs and joy in the excelling of bringing increased musicianship to our church music to properly play the songs.
Listening to 'The Well' has been a very similar experience, thus far. I started off being Slightly taken back, even surprised. It seemed to go to far. But the more I listen and join in, the more it makes sense and the more I worship. When that happens I know it is an album that will grow on me. And 'The Well' has! You will LOVE the song 'Freedom', and be blissful in 'Take Me Now'. You'll jump to 'Here We Stand' and you'll lay back and sing a lovers song to God as you join with 'You're All I Want'. My guess is that this is one CD that will have incredible staying power, selling and reaching in new churches for many years. We aren't all ready for this yet, but we will be sooner or later.
If you have a youth service, a gen-x church, or a very progressive leaning for music, you MUST check this CD out. If you are just getting over the huge transition from 'He Has Made Me Glad' to 'Lord I Lift Your Name On High', you might want to save your money. This is one CD that you will either love or dislike. No one is going to think it is 'ok'.
Half the album is lead by Mike Larson and his band Flood, who headlines the now classic song Freedom, which has been cut and recut by many other worship leaders and artists. This is the beautiful raw original, and it flies sky-high above other versions, if only because of the intense connection of the songwriter/leader to the song. The rest of the album is led by Melanie Theissen, a worship leader with the 1999 sound of Alanis Morsette. She attacks the vocals with passion and yet shows moments of real patience in letting the songs build (kudos to the arrangements from producer Philip Janz).
The CD can't be found extensively online at this point, so I found some audio samples here for you to get a taste of this. Here is the track list (sorry, audio samples are low res).
- Freedom
- This Little Light of Mine
- Great is the Lord's Love
- Here We Stand
- I'll Give You All of My Life
- Maker of Heaven
- All Will Rise
- Pour it Out on Me
- You're All I Want
- Take Me Now
- I Know
- Come Like a Flood - Intro
- Come Like a Flood
- Freedom - Extended
The bottom line- if you live on the edge, get this CD. If you're scared of the edge, buy it anyways and give it to your kids or grandkids! They will thank you for it!
With its daring approach, strong new songs, great live production and musicianship, this CD won the WorshipMusic.com 2000 Album of the Year and Editor's Choice Awards.
Product Link : http://amzn.to/wTet0H
Review by Kim Gentes