Introducing Claire Hamilton – CD Review
If you haven’t heard of Claire Hamilton by name yet, don’t worry – you may have heard her voice before – and you’ll almost certainly have heard of the guys backing her on this album. Claire, together with some of the guys from her other project (Rend Collective Experiment) has, in this EP, brought together 6 of her own songs, demonstrating not only her anointing as a worship leader, but also as a gifted songwriter. Here’s a track-by-track breakdown of this EP:
“In View of Your Mercy” – This co-write with Ben Cantelon is a powerful opener to the album. A strong, drum-led introduction opens out into a song that speaks of the privilege we hold in being able to approach God in worship. I particularly like the references to Romans 12 – offering our lives as living sacrifices in worship to God – a passage that has always held a special place in my heart.
“Lend Me Your Heart” – One of the standout tracks on the album for me. The space that is created by the simple, yet solid backing of bass, drums and electric guitars allows Claire’s melodic vocal line to clearly come to the fore, backed by some great harmony lines in the chorus. This song speaks of a desire to bring the Gospel to people with the heart of Christ – to see healing, deliverance, salvation and justice through the eyes of His heart.
“My Refuge” – When we’re feeling out of touch with the Lord, it is sometimes easy to forget just how close He is to us. One line of this song strikes me every time I hear it – “You are as close as the mention of Your name”. The strength of the message of this song is awesome – we are loved by a God who is our strength, our hope, and our refuge in times of need. This song is a great example of the more reflective side of Claire’s worship style – piano and ethereal guitars emphasize these feelings, and draw us into a place where we can connect with Him.
“Breathe on Me” – If you want a song of invitation for the Lord’s presence to come and speak to you, work within you, and encapsulate you, look no further. Here, we again find the blend of simple, effective, ethereal backing for an almost choral vocal offering. Here we see the strength of Claire’s vocal gifting – the strength of the melody line, backed by the subtlety of the harmonies is simply beautiful.
“Come Satisfy Us” – On another of the standout tracks of the album, we find Claire joined by Aaron Keyes for a track that reflects the Rend Collective influence on Claire’s music. Although almost hymnal in form, chord structure and melody, the song has a lightness to it – an almost folk air that draws heavily on the Irish roots of Claire’s music.
This was the first song of Claire’s that I came across, during a worship set she was involved in with Chris McClarney. Although I had been previously unaware of the song, by the end of the first chorus I (and the rest of the congregation) had all but learnt it – the uncomplicated feel to the lyrics, together with a teachable melody line make it very conducive to corporate worship.
“Look to the Cross” – A highly charged finisher to the album sees heavy, punchy guitars and a lively drumbeat catapult us into a catchy song speaking of the power of Christ’s suffering for us at the cross. Continuing the themes of hope, grace and mercy that are abundant throughout this album, this song reminds us of who we are in Christ, and where our salvation lies. I always like it when modern worshippers draw on the great hymn writers for inspiration, and here we find nestled into the song words from Charles Wesley’s “Love Divine” – speaking of the joyful love that was poured out for us on the cross.
Claire carries the whole-hearted endorsement of such established worship leaders as Brenton Brown, Chris McClarney, Kathryn Scott, and Matt Redman, and on the basis of this album, it’s not difficult to see why. If you’re looking for songs to lead you into a deeper time of worship with the Lord, look no further. There are songs of reflection, redemption, praise and adoration contained within this album, all underpinned by the grace, hope, mercy and love that the Lord gives to us in abundance.
-reviewed by Ed Rotheram
Episode 68: Live At The Retreat
On this episode we take you live to the All About Worship Retreat for a little glimpse of the experience.
Wisdom and Ben open up a Q&A time with the retreat artists: Michael Farren (of Pocket Full of Rocks), Brenton Brown, Dave Fitzgerald, and Sarah Reeves. We opened up the mic for attendees to ask them whatever questions they’d like. As you can tell from the recording, we had a blast!
QUICK LINKS
- Hosts: Wisdom Moon & Ben Abu Saada — check out their blogs
- Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes
- Subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed
Connect with Us!
Comment Line: 913.735.4229
All About Worship Retreat Tweets
Just a quick reminder this week is a BIG week for us! May 19-21 is the All About Worship Retreat with Pocket Full of Rocks, Brenton Brown, Sarah Reeves, and Dave Fitzgerald.
For those of you interested in seeing real-time tweets from the retreat, be sure to keep an eye on our official hashtag: #aawr11.
Live Streaming – Night of Worship w/ Brenton Brown, Pocket Full of Rocks, & More
We are so excited about the All About Worship Retreat coming up next week: May 19-21! As a part of the retreat we are hosting a free Night of Worship open to the public with Pocket Full of Rocks, Brenton Brown, Sarah Reeves, and Dave Fitzgerald (in conjunction with KLOVE, Air-1, and 93.7 The Fountain).
This will also be the big launch event for our new nonprofit ministry, Sounds of Redemption, which will be the parent organization of All About Worship. AAW will just be one of many ministries that Sounds of Redemption provides. To find out more about Sounds of Redemption, visit the website.
The free Night of Worship will be held at Grace Church in Overland Park, KS, but we know there are tons of you in our community who do not live near Kansas City, so we’ve worked it out with all the artists to be able to stream the event live online FOR FREE! You can join us live on this Livestream channel at 7:30pm CST next Friday night (5/20). Please help us spread the word to your friends, family, and social media network!
Putting on the All About Worship Retreat and this free Night of Worship is a pretty significant financial undertaking for us. If you’re able to support what we’re doing financially, that would be much appreciated! You can donate online by going to the “Give Now” page on SoundsofRedemption.com.
Thank you in advance for your prayer and financial support! It will enable us to continue to provide training events and online resources to thousands of worship leaders around the globe.
Brenton Brown “Our God is Near” – CD Review & Giveaway
For your chance to win a Pre-Release version of Brenton’s new CD, leave a comment on this post by Friday, March 25th, 5pm CST. We’ll pick two random winners! (Note: US residents only. Must be at least 18 years old.)
Brenton Brown continues his tradition of top-class songwriting and high-class production with his latest offering – Our God is Near. Here are my thoughts on this exciting new release…
I was introduced to “Our God is Mercy” at a recent conference. It was a lively opener with a catchy melody and had a structure that was very easy to follow. The song was quick and upbeat, yet gave enough space for interpretation, and had a nice refrain (“Lift up your eyes, lift up your eyes”…etc.) giving space for the congregation to regain some breath. Within seconds I was hooked, and over the course of the weekend, as the song grew in familiarity, so the passion of the words ignited something deep within me.
The studio version present on this album is again an upbeat offering – with a lively, punchy drumbeat with the rhythm guitar providing a strong, progressive feel to the song. The lyrics invite the worshipper into the song – there is a strong message of hope, acceptance and belonging prevalent within the opener to the album.
We go from here to the second track – “Joyful”, with an instantly recognisable melody line – adapted from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony’s “Ode to Joy”. The message of this song is beautiful – it’s hymnal verses are complemented superbly by a lively praise chorus (“You are the one who saves “etc.). This track (and indeed the entire album) stays faithful to the typical Sunday-morning worship band lineup – a couple of guitars, bass, drums and not much else. The producers (Jason Ingram & Rusty Varenkamp) deserve credit for this, as all too often studio worship albums can be completely over-orchestrated and almost impossible for worship bands to reproduce.
I had heard “Glorious” on Paul Baloche’s album of the same name, a co-write with Brenton, and as with other songs such as “Because of Your Love”, this appears on both Paul and Brenton’s albums. Brenton’s versions of these songs tend to be rockier than Paul’s, and this is no exception, with the introductory riff taken by a crunchy lead guitar. Bass and drums are the key to this version, pounding us through the song with passion and fervour.
Other highlights on this album include “All I Want” – a song that expresses perfectly the Lord’s love, grace and mercy towards us, and in the chorus we offer our response to the Lord of our desire to know Him and feel Him more.
The beautiful closing song “All for You” contains a great message which I will leave you with – this represents my heart for worship and how I feel we should view our relationship with the Lord:
“Jesus this is all for You,
Father this is all for You,
How Your children long to bless Your heart
Lord we’ve tasted and we’ve seen
We’ve held the beauty of the King
And we long to magnify our God”
Standout Songs:
All For You
Our God is Mercy
Glorious
Review by Ed Rotheram
(Review CD provided by Kingsway)
You can hang out with Brenton Brown and worship along to his new songs at the upcoming All About Worship Retreat in Kansas City, May 19-21…along with Pocket Full of Rocks, Sarah Reeves, Dave Fitzgerald, and 60 other fellow worship leaders/worshippers.
Episode 63: One-on-One with Brenton Brown
On this episode, we record as we go live online and give a chance for listeners to watch us as we record. Also, Wisdom goes one on one with Brenton Brown, worship leader/songwriter/Kingsway artist, to talk about his new album hitting the streets March 22nd.
Also, on this show we:
-discuss electric guitars
-feature Brenton Brown’s new song Joyful
-talk about how our sponsor, WorshipPlanning.com, helped save a marriage. Use promo code, podcast, and receive a 45 day free-trial
-discuss our upcoming worship retreat taking place May 19-21. Plus Members of our site receive $50 off registration. We’ve also added a time during the retreat for a Song Feedback Panel.
-announce a giveaway of Brenton’s new CD…2 pre-release copies.
QUICK LINKS
- Hosts: Wisdom Moon & Ben Abu Saada — check out their blogs
Connect with Us!
Comment Line: 913.735.4229
[wpaudio url="http://allaboutworship.podbean.com/mf/web/7cac88/063AAWBrentonBrown.mp3" text="Episode 63: Brenton Brown"]
Brenton Brown Video Interview with All About Worship
Well-respected worship leader/songwriter, Brenton Brown, interviewed by Wisdom Moon of All About Worship. The audio version of this interview will be featured along with his new song “Joyful”, on the All About Worship Podcast later this week.
Brenton Brown CD Giveaway!
Some of you may not be familiar with Brenton Brown. However, if you’ve been a worship leader for even a short time or have been attending church for a few months, you’d recognize many of Brenton Brown’s songs. They are used all over the world by countless churches. Brenton’s songs are packed with the Truth of God and very corporate worship-friendly. A great example is his song “Everlasting God”!
We are excited to give away 2 copies of Brenton’s newest CD hitting the streets on March 22nd. They are not just any CD’s, they are 2 pre-release copies…you know, the kind you can’t buy anywhere! You’ll have a special pre-release of the new album, Our God is Near, that you can brag to all your friends about!
So, watch this video to find out how you can enter the contest and read the details below:
Help us reach 2,000 “Likes” on our Facebook page by March 22nd!
Tell all your friends & family to “Like” our page. “Tag” us so we can officially enter you into the contest. (To “tag” our page, you must first “Like” our page, then post an update using the tag feature by typing in @AllAboutWorship.com)
We’ll pick 2 winners (if we reach 2,000 “Likes”) on March 23rd!
Note: You must live in the U.S. and be at least 18 years old to enter.
The Songwriter’s Cafe Partners with Worthwhile Worship
We are extremely excited to announce the partnership of The Songwriter’s Cafe with Worthwhile Worship!
Who is Worthwhile Worship? It is an online song review service for Christian songwriters/artists of all genres of music. You pay $30/song and they will have one of their reviewers give you honest feedback on your song.
Not only that, they will also publish your song if your song stands out. The great part about this is that Worthwhile Worship is in partnership with Kingsway/Thank You Music. (That’s the UK label/publishing company that artists like Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, and Brenton Brown are under.) So, the opportunities are tremendous!
Recently, Worthwhile Worship approached us with an interest in partnering with us in some way. We were so excited about the opportunity and wanted to arrange something where our online songwriting community will get the most benefit.
If you’re participating in our Songwriting Challenge, this new partnership will be a great opportunity for you! Each month, we will pick the best song out of the Songwriting Challenge submissions and give that song a free submission to WorthwhileWorship.com. That’s a $30 value. So, now not only do you get the benefit of peer review/feedback on your song submissions each month, but you also have a chance of getting your song reviewed by someone like David Ruis, Les Moir, and Lex Buckley.
If your song does well, you may be offered a publishing deal or have the interest of record labels. Who knows! We hope you will certainly take advantage of this opportunity each month.
It’s not too late to join the Songwriting Challenge!
Shownotes for October 28, 2009: Interview with Brenton Brown
On this episode of the All About Worship Podcast, we hear from songwriter/worship leader Brenton Brown. If you are a worship leader, chances are you’ve led your church singing a
Brenton Brown song. You’ll hear about his songwriting process, his perspective on how the worship music scene has changed over the past 10 years and where he thinks it’s heading over the next five. You’ll also hear Brenton’s latest single “Adoration” during the podcast. Stay tuned for a special outtake at the end of the podcast.
Tommy Walker Webinar
“In this Webinar, I want to passionately remind worship leaders, pastors and worshipers in general why we gather on a Sunday and what happens when we express worship to God. Every week we come together and sing songs, but if we don’t understand the importance of it and the power of God that is in it, the worship in our churches will only tend to shrink. I believe if we will take a step back and let God’s word show us what we are to do, we will all be able to lead with a kind of passion and boldness that we never had before!” -Tommy
Register today for the upcoming webinar with Tommy Walker on “10 Things that Happen When We Worship”.
Show Links
- BrentonBrown.com. Visit Brenton’s website.
- Brenton’s YouTube Channel. Check out Brenton’s Vlog where he answers your questions and shares insights from his worship leading/songwriting experiences.
- Brenton’s Blog. Check out Brenton’s blog.
- Brenton on Twitter. Follow Brenton on Twitter.
- “Introducing Brenton Brown” on iTunes. Get the single “Adoration” on Brenton’s latest release on iTunes. Amazing songs for corporate worship.
- Listener Feedback from Ganns in the Philippines. Thanks to Ganns for the love! Glad you’re listening.
- Tommy Walker Webinar. Register today!
- Paul Baloche. Join us for a live interview with Paul Baloche as we record for an upcoming podcast. October 30, 11 or 11:30am CST. Stay tuned for the finalized time.
- Tim Hughes. We’ve got an interview scheduled with Tim Hughes for an upcoming podcast. Nov 19 at 10am CST.
- Facebook Fan Page. Join us…you know you want to.
- Contact us. Visit Wisdom’s site here. Visit Ben’s blog here. Email us at podcast@allaboutworship.com or call us and leave a voicemail on our new number at 206.426.7119. You can also follow All About Worship on Twitter. Follow Ben on Twitter. Follow Wisdom on Twitter.
Listen to this episode on our AAW Archives page. Subscribe on iTunes.
We are planning a special year end edition of the All About Worship Podcast where we answer your questions about the podcast. Any question is game. Submit them to our email or voicemail by November 5th and we’ll do our best to include them.
By the way, we’ll pick 3 random people from the comments on this post to win the “Introducing Brenton Brown” CD AND a free regisration to the webinar w/ Tommy Walker. (You must first listen to the episode and then comment about it. We’ll know if you haven’t.)
Once again, the All About Worship crew want to thank YOU for listening!
Follow Us!
