Passion: Here For You – CD Review
Recorded live at Passion 2011 in Atlanta, GA in January, 2011, this latest Passion recording, Here For You, is filled with powerful songs, many perfect for congregational use in worship.
Many familiar artists have a part in this recording, including Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, David Crowder*Band and Kristian Stanfill. There is one new addition, however – rapper LeCrae makes a special appearance along with the David Crowder*Band on the song “Shadows”, which adds a whole new exciting sound for this group.
Tomlin plays a large part in this collection, featured in half of the 12 songs on the recording. The title song, “Here For You”, kicks off the album, and is an excellent call to worship – “We welcome You with praise | we welcome You with praise | Almighty God of praise | be welcomed in this place.”
One of my favorite songs on the whole album is “All My Fountains”, which has such a unique, infectious feel to it! The rhythms, guitars, percussion, clapping and vocals combine for a driving, energetic celebration of the truth that He is the source of all that we have.
Christy Nockels’ flawless voice is featured on two tracks – “Waiting Here For You” and “Carry Your Name”. “Waiting Here For You” was actually written by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Martin Smith, and is an anthem of expectation, based on our knowledge of God’s faithfulness. Kristian Stanfill leads two of the most congregationally-friendly tunes on the whole album, beginning with “Forever Reign”, the popular song originally recorded by the team at Hillsong.
Another previously released song led by Kristian is “Always”, originally released on his Mountains Move project. But, this is another one of my favorites on the album, and I’m so glad it was included here, because it’s a great arrangement with a soaring chorus – “Oh my God | He will not delay | My refuge and strength always” and such an inspiring bridge “I lift my eyes up| my help comes from the Lord.”
This is another solid live album recorded by Passion! The production quality is superior, especially for a live recording, and worship leaders will have no trouble finding a new batch of songs to introduce to their churches. It’s also a treasure to have just for your own personal times of worship. I’d highly recommend this one!
Review by Barry Westman
All About Worship Award 2010 Winners Announced
Back in October we announced the first annual All About Worship Awards and asked you to vote. We announced the winners on Episode 58 of the All About Worship Awards. In case you missed it, here are the winners of All About Worship Awards 2010:
Artist of the Year: Vicky Beeching
Band of the Year: Hillsong United
Album of the Year: Eternity Invades by Vicky Beeching
Song of the Year: ”Our God” by Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin, Jesse Reeves
Twitterer of the Year: @vickybeeching
Interview of the Year: Kari Jobe (read the interview)
Embarrassing Moment of the Year: Carlos Whittaker (Episode 34)
From the All About Worship Team, HUGE congrats to all the winners! Big thanks to hundreds of you that participated and made this a very fun first year for the AAW Awards!
Hillsong UNITED “Aftermath” – CD Review & Preview
(Review by Barry Westman)
After a long wait of over two years, Hillsong UNITED has released its eleventh full-length and second studio album, entitled Aftermath. After their last release, Hillsong UNITED took some time for a season of rest in their local church. The band members took the time to challenge themselves musically and lyrically. Their efforts have paid off, because Aftermath offers a very fresh, creative collection of 12 new songs that explore the life-changes that occur in the “aftermath” of an encounter with Christ. The only song I already knew on this album was “Awakening”, from the recent Passion album, but that made sense when I realized the song was co-written by Chris Tomlin and Hillsong writer Reuben Morgan.
“I think we just wanted to create an album that didn’t follow all the rules and that we ourselves would want to worship to, whether we’re in the car driving home, on the train on the way to work or wherever we happen to be. We didn’t want to rely on what feels familiar,” says Hillsong UNITED’s Joel Houston.
“Normally ‘aftermath’ has a negative, even traumatic, connotation,” Houston says. “At the same time, when I look at the Crucifixion as an event, it paints an extraordinarily negative and horrific picture. But the aftermath of the Cross is hope for all mankind. It’s grace, freedom, peace, life and everything that is good about God. I absolutely love that picture.”
This album definitely has a unique sound for Hillsong UNITED, especially since it’s only the second studio album by the group. As much as I enjoy listening to a live worship album, there is something about a studio album like this that is really appealing. On the whole, I would say it is a more contemplative, reflective album compared to other UNITED albums. Many of the songs are very artistic, ranging in style from rock, to orchestral ballad, to all electronic music.
Some of the songs that stood out to me:
Track 1 – Take Heart (Joel Houston) This is not what I expected for the opening track of the album, and I think that’s what caught my attention. With its pounding, driving tom rhythms, this song sets the tone for the rest of the album – “Hold on to Hope, and take courage again”. Hope in the aftermath is a recurring theme on this album.
Track 3 – Like An Avalanche (Joel Houston) This is a beautiful song that speaks of the paradox of Jesus, the King, becoming a servant for us, and of His humbling, amazing grace. “And I find myself here on my knees again, caught up in grace like an avalanche”. Again, the driving, syncopated rhythms, especially on the bridge, and the outstanding vocal duet make this a standout track!
Track 4 – Rhythms of Grace (Chris Davenport, Dean Ussher) I really enjoyed the progression of this song from a nice, lilting 6/8 song to a driving, syncopated, rhythmic, multi-layered offering of exuberant worship!
Track 7 – Bones (Jill McCloghry, Joel Houston) When this song started, I thought I was back in the ‘80s with the heavy synth pads, which continued to be the driving sound of the whole song. But, as the song went on, the sounds seemed to fit perfectly with the lyrics “You can take my dry bones, breathe life into this skin”. It actually became a fresh sounding, driving anthem of crying out for the Holy Spirit to revive us again!
Bonus Track – Search My Heart (Radio version) ( Joel Houston, Matt Crocker) This radio version of “Search My Heart” (Track 11), is one that will surely catch on in many churches! It is a cry of commitment and dedication “With all my heart, and all my soul, with all I am, Lord I will follow You”. An inspiring anthem that is easy to sing, and one that I can’t wait to use!
Check out the album montage along with 30 second samples of every song:
Hillsong United – Aftermath Samples by factor7agency
Album Releases on February 15, 2011. You will be able to purchase it on iTunes on that date:
(Streaming courtesy of EMI. Please do not stream the music on your own site without the express consent of EMI; it is forbidden. Feel free to direct your friends to this site to take a listen.)
Joel Auge Interview with All About Worship
Here’s a special interview our very own Joe Brookhouse did with Integrity Music artist Joel Auge.
A: The whole album explores the idea of the power, presence and potential of invisible things. Faith is invisible, but undeniable… especially when you’ve spent a long time trusting someone. There’s no need to question them after they’ve been there for you over and over again. You can just believe in them. Hope is invisible, but drives us to persevere when we’ve lost it all. Love is invisible, but nobody would deny it’s existence. And although many people question God’s existence, these three things help us perceive His interest in us. He is passionate about us – and shows us by using many very real invisible things. The universe is personal – and Jesus is the person behind it all. That’s what I wanted to convey.
Q: Your style of art-rock isn’t commonly found in today’s worship music. How do you see it fitting in with corporate worship? Which songs from “Invisible Things” have had the most impact on your congregation at The Meeting House?
A: This last year has been a time of deep transition for the music at the Meetinghouse. Sadly, I haven’t been able to use any of my songs there yet… but plan to in the not-so-distant future, once we’ve nailed down how to best navigate our new musical waters 
Q: The production on “Invisible Things” is striking. In particular, the middle third of the album is reminiscent (at least to this listener) of Fleetwood Mac circa “Tusk”, produced by Lindsay Buckingham. Tell us about your production team.How did you select them for this project? How much influence did they have on the “feel” of the album?
A: I was in the middle of selecting a big L.A. Producer (who I love, and shall remain nameless) for this project when I stumbled upon a new artist/producer ”Alexander Fairchild” and his first project. I have to use quotes because “Alexander Fairchild” is Nathan Finochio’s pseudonym. Nathan, and David Kuwabara our engineering producer, have been toiling away in their own little studio at Koinonia Christian Fellowship, in Bloomingdale Ontario for several years together. They’ve been honing their craft every night in secret. Upon hearing Nathan’s record, I immediately fell in love with the raw style and musicality of their stuff. They also allowed for a lot of noise to stay on the project. I love noise. I love hearing the room and the air between the instruments and the microphones. It turned out, they were local and this was smack dab at the end of Michelle’s pregnancy. I’m first a husband and this was our first baby – so I wanted to stick around for that. I’m sure everyone understands As it turns out, God was giving me a special gift by building this amazing relationship with Nathan and David right near my home. I went into the studio and immediately knew we could do something amazing together. We approached the project with this vision: “If we couldn’t record the instrument in one whole pass for the whole song, it shouldn’t be there. We want performances, not necessarily perfection.” We didn’t use any auto-tune on the lead-vocals and I forced myself to sing whole passes of the songs and then pick the pass we liked the most. The whole thing has this organic feel. I’m really quite happy with the outcome. Here’s another reason it was amazing: Nathan is a killer multi-instrumentalist. If you open the album credits you’ll see that his skills are ALL OVER this record, and David is always recording-ready. It made the demoing process incredibly quick. Nathan knows what he just played on the drums when he picks up the bass, and then the guitar, and then the piano… so it’s like there’s a whole band in his head – and he knows all of their parts perfectly when he’s playing… because he IS the whole band. He’s a stunning talent. But stunning talent is only as good as the way it’s captured… and that’s where Dave comes in. A true audiophile, Dave is committed to capturing audio in its purest form. In fact, we recorded nearly everything in the console room – where all the instruments are setup. No vocal booth, or drum room. Just… one room… with everything in it. It was awesome. There was no conscious effort to have “a sound”… although I appreciate the Fleetwood Mac comparison… I grew up listening to FM with my brothers and sisters.
Q: Much as with secular music, Canadian artists frequently take a backseat to their American counterparts. Do you find there is a challenge in reaching across the borders and getting the attention of American worship leaders?
A: I try not to pay attention to divides. Although I guess a border is a real, yet invisible thing. (Ha! – Stupid joke… sorry). Not to be contrarian, but I have to disagree. If you look at the spectrum of Canadian artists who are superstars in the U.S., there’s a deep history of Canadian success in the U.S. music (and broader entertainment) industry. (To clarify, I’m not interested in being a superstar – believe me). Canada has 1/10 the population of our friends to the south, but Canada as a whole produces a ton of great artists. In the realm of worship music it’s no different. Brian Doerksen, David Ruis, Starfield, Paul Baloche (who is born of Canadian parents – he just HAPPENED to be in the U.S. when it happened 
, Chris Tomlin (okay… Chris isn’t even remotely close to being Canadian, but the thousands of people who follow articles on Chris will read this article just to find out why he was mentioned, and then they’ll learn that he’s not Canadian at all – useful info to be certain). There is no backseat. I like to think we’re both drivers in a race to have people experience God… The American car is just bigger. Isn’t it always?
Q: What Canadian artists have been influential to you? What other Canadian artists should we be aware of including other worship leaders? Who’s flying under the radar?
A: Nathan, for one, is coming out with a worship record written and performed with his brother. They’re both amazing. Look out for it.
Q: Many worship leaders have other full-time commitments and lead worship as volunteers. You are managing fatherhood, running a software company, leading worship, writing music, and promoting a new album. How do you do it and what advice would you give those volunteer worship leaders in terms of balancing priorities?
A: God is gracious… and I have a patient wife. If I’m honest – it’s not easy. I find it hard to balance them all. I try to live one day at a time. I commit to doing what I’m currently doing at the very highest capacity possible. I surround myself with amazing people who are better at what they do than I am at what I do. People who are good at what they do are usually highly productive.
Q: A question we ask at the end of every interview…share with us your most embarrassing moment while leading worship.
A: This could be any number of different situations…. but if I had to pick one… I’d say it was a time, early on when I was leading worship with Capstone (my first worship band after becoming a Christ-follower), where I was jumping around the stage – quite actively – and giving it my all – when under the full force of one of my bellows, the button of my pants popped off! The crazy thing was… I noticed quite quickly (before my pants fell off) and somehow finished the song while holding onto my pants with the bottom of my guitar. After the song I transitioned to a song where Brad would play an instrumental piano piece while I figured things out. A shoe-string later and I was up and running again. Improvising is key.
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