“Economy”, John Mark McMillan – CD Review

As I’m sure is the case with a few of the readers out there, until I heard this album my experiences of John Mark McMillan had been confined to his own rendition of ‘How He Loves’. On his version of his own song, John Mark brings his natural, gritty, raw brand of worship to the fore – a far cry from some of the other (some would say more predictable) brands of worship doing the rounds at the minute. Let’s take a closer look at John Mark’s latest offering – Economy.

I, like many, love music that reminds me of the sound that first got me hooked on guitars. The first bands I really took to in this vain were some of the guitar bands of the mid-90s – Counting Crows, REM, Hootie and the Blowfish and the like. Upon hearing the opening three tracks – ‘Sheet of Night’, ‘Daylight’ and ‘Our Hearts Bleed’ – these were the bands I thought of. John Mark’s voice sits way up in the foreground, with great melodies put over pleasing, driving chord sequences belted out by a stirring live rhythm unit of guitar, bass and drums. The drums in particular have an early Led Zeppelin feel – look up ‘When the Levee Breaks’ and you’ll know where I’m coming from.

From the rocky opening, tracks 4 and 5 on the album take the level down a shade or two, and into a couple of tracks that would sit nicely on U2’s The Joshua Tree: ‘Love You Swore’, and the standout track on the album – ‘Murdered Son’. Ethereal guitars sit over a solid underlying rhythm, again with John Mark’s voice providing captivating vocals. Again [as with the “sloppy wet kiss” line in ‘How He Loves’] John Mark shows within ‘Murdered Son’ how he is not afraid to express himself in words that may make others uncomfortable by portraying Jesus as “God’s Murdered Son”. Herein lies some of the beauty of John Mark’s worship – his heart is placed directly onto his sleeve at the beginning of the album, and doesn’t show any signs of being removed.

John Mark’s anointing for lyrical and arrangement skill again comes to the fore in “Who Is This”. Countless songs have been written around the words of Psalm 24, in which the gates are opened up for the King of Glory to enter, and yet here we find an original, compelling worship song, with some succinct guitar work thrown in. For me this is one of the standout tracks musically – the phased guitar that appears toward the end of this track being a particular high point.

I’ve heard Tim Hughes and Matt Redman describe worship as being an outward expression of a heart’s cry to the Lord. This is where John Mark’s worship begins and ends – I’ve likened many of the tracks to sounds and bands that I’ve heard before, and yet he (and the Lord) would simply define this as the sound that comes out when he pours his heart out. This is refreshingly pure worship, and worship that I enjoyed immensely.

-Review by Ed Rotheram

(review CD provided by Integrity Music)

How He Loves – Four Music Videos

Here are four different music videos of “How He Loves” by four different worship leaders. Which one is your favorite?

John Mark McMillan (the writer of the song):

How He Loves Song Story – John Mark McMillan

The writer of the powerful song “How He Loves”, John Mark McMillan, shares the story behind the song.

How He Loves – Jared Anderson

A live recording of “How He Loves” by Jared Anderson (the “sloppy wet kiss” version)

Church Music by David Crowder Band

David Crowder Band’s newest project, Church Music, was just released yesterday. Great stuff!

It’s available on iTunes. Check it out!

Manly Worship – Live Roundtable Discussion

Most of us know that there is a higher percentage of women in church today than men. There are many theories behind this, but could the music have something to do with it? Are the worship songs we sing today too feminine and not manly enough?

Guys, do you sometimes feel awkward singing touchy, feely worship songs?

Do you feel there aren’t enough worship songs that men can relate to?

Join us as we discuss the topic of “Manly Worship” in a roundtable discussion. The folks around the table will be: Ben Abu Saada, Wisdom Moon, Fred McKinnon, Mandy Thompson, and Troy Kennedy. We invite you to join us live next Tuesday, September 29 @ 9pm Central on Talkshoe and take part in this discussion…a special edition of the podcast.

As you think about this topic check out this video interview of Matt Redman: “Worship Songs Aren’t For The Blokes”.

Also, you should check out this blog post – “How He Loves, David Crowder, and Sloppy Wet Kisses” – by John Mark McMillan, the writer of the song “How He Loves”. He talks about the line that David Crowder Band changed in their version – “sloppy wet kiss” to “unforseen kiss”.

Share your thoughts here on the site. Let’s get the discussion started!