Kim Gentes

Anyone who has been present and involved with local churches and ministries at a formative time period understands the kind of encouragement and freedom that comes with discovering God anew. The fresh sounds of praise music are often synchronous with a burgeoning work of God's Spirit among those who are willing to abandon themselves to God's purposes.  It is this tenor and effusion of enthusiasm that rings true in the music of Jesus Culture, and especially in one of its earliest releases, "We Cry Out".

Worship leaders Chris Quilala, Kim Walker and Melissa Wise explode across this album with honest rock music, sung and played with conviction. Even ballads don't accquiese to straw-man band arrangements with no guts. You get electric guitars, drums, bass and unapologetic vocals on every track. But this isn't a rock show- this is real worship. All out, forget-anyone-is-watching, leave your offering and life on the alter before God, kind of worship.

What is interesting about the early Jesus Culture albums, including this one, is that they don't enamor themselves with their own songwriting. Instead they prove to be possibly some of the best arrangers of some of the best worship songs both known and unknown. Very few of the songs are home grown to the Jesus Culture band. This is one of the first albums to record the then controversial song by John Mark McMillan How He Loves. The track list on this album includes sparkling rock favorite Delirious' Rain Down, riveting title track We Cry Out by local worship leader Brian Johnson, three excellent selections from Hillsong United song catalog, I Adore You by Phil Wickham, and the song Your Love Is Everything from rising writer Chris McClarney.

This is a live album, like all the Jesus Culture recordings. Included are poignant moments of prayer, encouragement and proclamation. The recording doesn't suffer from adding these elements, instead they help it retain a sense of authenticity and place the listener in the context of the worship experience. The production on the later Jesus Culture albums do continue to improve, but the raw energy of this recording is irreproducible. It is a glimpse of a group of people praise God with all out abandon, great music and great songs.

Product Link: We Cry Out - Jesus Culture Music (CD/DVD)

Review by Kim Gentes

I love a journey- a great book, a good movie, or a speech from a great story teller. Each of these can move you through a compelling message and an artistic crafting of language. But journeys are not quick trips to the corner store- they are treks that take us to distant places and back again close to home. Journeys have story, subplots and great characters. Journeys take time. Journeys give back to the traveler as much as the traveler gives to the journey. So it is with the new project in my player for the last 3 weeks- "Holy God".

Song writer/worship leader Brian Doerksen presents this latest offering of worship not as a collection of "hit songs" (though there are some worthy of that moniker), but as a journey that takes you from the call of prayer to the throne of heaven and back home where we live our lives with our Holy God. Doerksen has always been an artist who presents themes in his projects and songs, but this project epitomizes that style. At sixteen tracks with an hour and 7 minutes in length, "Holy God" is a journey that will have you captured with the crisp musical vision of Doerksen's Holy God. But this journey will not find you drained and tired from the experience. Quite the opposite! From start to finish this project is rooted in Biblical truth that challenges the heart, comforts the soul, and lights the fire of passion for those pursuing God.

The album ebbs to life with the self-titled "Invocation" and builds nicely into the prayer song "Our Father In Heaven", where the Lord's Prayer is the core of a nicely woven song in which we all can open up in prayer to our Father.

Song three explodes into the title track "Holy God", which takes a microcosm journey into the attributes of the Trinity and His works to reclaim man into a restored relationship. "Holy God" is a simple and powerful anthem that radiates with the names and deeds of God, lyrically. "Holy God" is one of those great and rare songs that worship leaders will be able to employ in any format, from a simple piano or guitar with a single voice, to a rock band, to a full orchestra arrangement. And producer Philip Janz makes that point by revealing a masterful musical production that gathers the sounds of choral and orchestral ancient forms with driving modern guitars and stellar drumming. I won't spill all the lyrics here, but the punctuated style of the verses in this song exemplifies the strength of Doerksen's writing skills with that age old adage - less is more. In this case, much more!

If you aren't on the road of this journey by track three, you will be soon, as track four is a simple narrative to help you along. It also intros for track five "Song for the Bride" in which God speaks to His church from the text of Isaiah 30:15. The music and lyrics are as renewing as they are convicting. As the tracks roll on you will find that this project does something very few Christian worship recordings do anymore—it provides food for the soul of the believer, while at the same time engaging and inviting all to join in with the songs of heaven. As a person who listens to a lot of music, I find it common for many producers and records to simply try to hook the listener with a good groove or catchy melody- but the content is either lacking in Biblical depth or simplistic in its musical development. Not so with "Holy God" or Brian Doerksen, whose musical prowess and attention to detail in staying scripturally themed has his music played across thousands of churches around the world.

When my CD player hit "He Is Here", I had to stop and replay it. I just melted into my chair. In a beautiful duet with Christine Dente, Doerksen (in a co-write with veteran Paul Baloche) presents a wonderful song of peace in God. Very refreshing.

Just as you are getting refreshed, the project explodes again. This time into a sparkling rendition of Doerksen's upbeat "Light The Fire Again". Completely rejuvenated, you will love this new arrangement of a great praise song. And so it is with this entire project—ebbs and flows of musical and lyrical content bring you through a complete journey of the holiness of God and the prayerful weakness of us, His children.

There are plenty of great songs along the way of this journey, and I really want to be sure you check them out. But don't plan on rushing through this CD to find your latest hits. If you want them, they are there, but I would encourage you rather to sit down and listen for an hour and walk through an age old journey of soul and spirit learning about, searching for and being pursued by our Holy God!

Worship leaders will do well to take note of tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 15, as possibilities for wonderful contributions to any churches repertoire. I also found myself especially captivated by track 13 that is a beautiful medley of the song "Be Unto Your Name" (DeShazo and Sadler) and the hymn classic "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Heber & Dykes).

What really impressed me with this project is how encouraged and thankful I came away from listening to it. That "we are a vapor" and "He is eternal", and yet in His holy power He still pursues us and calls us to return to Him. In the end, it is a hopeful message that reverberates through the songs, lyrics and music. It is a message that builds up the soul and stirs it forward towards Christ. I encourage you to take this journey as well.

This is a wonderful album worth taking the time to listen to and engage with.

Product Link Holy God

Review by Kim Gentes

From unashamed to impassioned, from declarative to prayerful, and from intimate to glorious- these are the swells of heart language that flow from "Unshakable", the sparkling new collection of worship and songs from veteran songwriter/worship leader Andy Park. I can't stop listening to this newest project because, simply, is inspires me at new depths with each listen. What a great collection of songs- very diverse but seamlessly synchronized in musical production and heart language.

What I love about Andy Park resounds in this new project, just as it has always rang out from his music and his life. His integrity, his clarity of purpose and the example of his actions run a consistent thread from his songwriting, his mentoring of other worship leaders, his work in local and world missions, all the way to his raising of his children. I must admit to having had the opportunity to get to know Andy over a few years in mid nineties. More than anyone else I have met in arena of worship leaders and songwriters, Andy epitomizes the balance of outstanding leadership and humble service. Most will know Andy as the prolific songwriter who has penned "In The Secret" (I Want To Know You), "Holy Love", "We Will Ride", "The River Is Here" and over a hundred published songs used throughout the world. What most won't know is that Andy also is the mentor to a long list of worship leaders, including people such as Brian Doerksen, Craig Musseau, Kelly Carpenter, Larry Hampton and many other people without songwriting credits and recognition.

It is with that kind of pedigree that "Unshakable" comes our way. Andy draws from a lifetime of songwriting to God for use in the church. This crop of new songs is as strong as ever. But unlike any project in the past, his excellent songwriting is presented through the shimmering production of veteran producer Nathan Nockels. The results are the outstanding new project, "Unshakable".

Declarative praise launches this project with the title track "Unshakable", where pop stylings deliver a great musical rendition of lyrics based in the 62nd Psalm - an excellent song, reflecting the unchanging nature of God. "Revive Us Again" as a new prayer anthem that is sure to be echoed in many churches, because of its singable, engaging chorus and universal heart cry for God to visit us with His holy fire and life. Moving from style to style, this album explodes with a full gospel choir and stylings in "Savior of the World". After you settle back into your chair, you come to the narrative/prayer song "Come Reign" which teaches about the kingdom of God through ebbs of biblical song stories and flows of the prayer "come reign".

The fifth track swells with my favorite song on the project, "You Are God", where Andy re-inspires the well used theme from the books of Isaiah and Revelation where all creation lifts up its voice and declares "holy is the Lord". If you are looking for an excellent new song to use in church this week, I urge you to look at this great song. I have to admit that I have played this one in loop for over an hour. It has that scriptural clarity and anthemic nature of a song you expect to be sung around the throne of God.

But don't stop listening there. As you continue listening to this project you will find precious pearls (the title of the next track, pun intended) on each of the 11 tracks on this project. From the devotional "Precious Pearl", "Worthy of All My Love" and "To Give My Life Away" to the intimate "My Father, My Friend" you will find encouraging treasures to both bless you and give language to your blessing of our Lord through worship and praise. One song I will point out in closing is the poignant "Carry Me", which is a prayer song whose lyrics are reminiscent of the desperate times of David and whose message resounds in the hearts of all who have encountered brokenness and painful times.

Andy Park's "Unshakable" is a brilliant marriage of top notch songwriting and sparkling production from a man whose life reflects the message of his music. This new project earns our highest marks here at Worshipmusic.com, and we are happy to mark it as an Editor's Choice as a great new contribution to the church.

I truly hope you take the opportunity to listen to the audio clips, but even more so to get the entire album and see if several of the songs don't find their way into your local congregation. This is one of the best albums I have heard in the last few years, so I hope you take a listen.

Product Link Unshakable

Review by Kim Gentes

Once in a while an album comes along that surprises you with great songs, capturing melodies and effusive worship. In the "normal" course of things, a strong project might contain one great song and maybe another good song. Rarely would you find a project with 3 or 4 truly top notch songs. But in 2006, a growing church in the Dallas metroplex released an album called "Living For You". The ministry of Gateway Church and its worship department was introducing its cadre of songwriters and leaders to the country for the first on a broad scale.  This inaugural release was not the first project Gateway worship had produced, but it was the first one released through Integrity Music, a group that has consistently mined a large portion of the most used songs in America over the last 25 years.

"Living For You" delivers no less thirteen prestine tracks, with four phenomenal songs, including one of the most popular songs in the world today in the blissful modern rendition of the trisagion prayer entitled Revelation Song. If you haven't heard this top 5 CCLI song at least once in the last 5 years, its likely you haven't been to church. For pastoral leaders and teachers Revelation Song was quickly accepted because it both glorified God with direct language and used mostly Scriptural quote and reference to fill and inform its lyrics. For worship leaders and musicians everywhere Revelation Song proved an irrisistable combination of excellent lyrical content and refreshing musical variety, giving the pop-worship 1-4-5 musical mantra a needed rest. Which of us worship leaders wasn't delighted to find a well-written song with a great melodic hook that made good use of a minor 5th and flatted 7th prominently styled into the song?

Other songs from this album, which have also found broad acceptance across the church, are You, You Are God, The More I Seek You and Thomas Miller's modern revision of the classic Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King. These songs are all incorporated with a top notch musical presentation into the "Living For You" album. Listening to this project, you will find moments of explosive praise, enthralling worship and absolute abandon. One forgets that the musical leaders on this project have become well known, because this project reflects none of the trappings of "stardom" that seem to come as quickly to Christian worship leaders as they do to pop stars.  The album feels and sounds like an authentic voice of a local church giving its all in song and worship to God. You will be drawn in and find yourself prayerful, praiseful and heavenward as you take the journey of the songs represented here.

If you haven't already put this project on your playlist, get the mp3 album and enjoy some great songs as you worship.

Product Link: Living For You - Gateway Worship

Review by Kim Gentes

Joyful, unencumbered and refreshing. These are the thoughts that come to mind as you sit down and worship along with worship leader Carl Tuttle's latest studio CD 'Vineyard Classics'. These are some of the most poignant, worshipful songs you will ever hear. At the core of this album is simplicity and devotion. The songs are accessible in their musical and lyrical arrangements, though the album is very well produced and sonically pleasing. For those who are familiar with the songs that have come out of the Vineyard music stream in the last 25 years, they may be aware of the foundational component that Carl Tuttle and his music have played in forming the Vineyard values and style in its music content and writing.

On this album Carl revisits the best songs he has penned and captures fresh and engaging recordings of these great songs. From the celebrative 'Lift Jesus Higher' and 'Hosanna' to the repentant 'Oh Lord, Have Mercy on Me' to the glorious 'All The Earth Shall Worship', song after song will wash a sense of peace and truth into your heart. It's interesting to me that as I look at these songs, so much of the lyric content is simply capturing the message or direct content of the Psalms, or various other scriptures.

As a worship leader myself, I have a repertoire of songs from across many groups. I use some UK worship songs (Redman, Hughes, Delirious et al), Passion worship (Tomlin, etc), Integrity music (Doerksen, Ten Shekel Shirt), recent Vineyard music (Dwell, David Ruis, Andy Park etc), and a smattering of other sources (from Third Day tunes to old hymns). I mention this because it might help those who have similar song sets in their local churches. Over the last several years, as these songs have grown and expanded into our local churches, the music has become increasingly well produced and more complicated in arrangement. While it gives us fresh music with interesting sounds, in an effort to make each song more interesting, more engaging, more unique, it seems that we may have lost something. This new album from Carl Tuttle, reminded me of the simplicity and power of songs speaking of repentance, humility and simple abandon to falling at the feet of Jesus.

What I try to do, as a worship leader, is to hold in tension two things: following the dynamic direction of God for the moment, and using a collection of well-thought, scripturally-centered songs that present the complete picture of Christ and his works. What I love about this album is that it reminds me of one of the most important themes that can easily disappear from our music selections- the song of repentance. The seeds of revival and renewal have always been prayer and repentance (2 Chron. 7:14). Three songs on this album are powerful in that regard of giving us language to express our human weakness while inviting Christ's redemption to overwhelm us- 'Without Your Love', 'Because of the Lord's Great Love', and my favorite 'Oh Lord, Have Mercy On Me'. I recently reintroduced this last song to our local church during worship and it was very engaging. What I'd like to convey most of all is that this is an album that lyrically encourages you to simply bow down at the feet of Jesus.

Those of you who have long known these songs will be happy to find this CD of excellent songs collected into one release. Those who haven't heard these before, I strongly encourage you to check out this CD and be refreshed. A truly great album!

Product Link Carl Tuttle's Vineyard Classics

Review by Kim Gentes