“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)

New John Mark McMillan CD Giveaway!

John Mark McMillan‘s new album, Economy, is releasing on November 1st and WE want to give YOU a free copy!

Here’s how you can enter to win:

-As you may know October is Clergy Appreciation Month. So, call our comment line and leave a 1-2 minute (verbal) tribute for a pastor you know (it could be your senior pastor, worship pastor, or any other pastor that you want to show your appreciation for). Our comment line is: 913.735.4229 (Alternately, you can email a 1-2 minute mp3 of your tribute to allaboutworship@gmail.com.)

-Be sure to mention the pastor’s first & last name, name of the church the pastor serves at, and your name. After the tribute, please leave your phone number twice so we can give you a call and let you know if you win.

-We will pick 3 random winners and play their audio tribute on the All About Worship Podcast (We will not share your phone number.)

-Deadline is Thursday, October 20, 2011. You must be a U.S. or Canada resident and at least 18 years old.

-By entering this contest you are giving us permission to use your audio on our website, podcast, and/or promotional material.

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):

Episode 49: Interview with John Mark McMillan

This week on the All About Worship Podcast, Ben and Wisdom talk about their recent experience at the National Worship Leader Conference, hear your feedback and talk with our field reporter, Mandy Thompson. You also hear Wisdom’s retaliation for Ben’s “ID10T” comment on the previous show. It’s true…one of Ben’s many dreams was to one day become a rapper. And on this episode, we quickly find out why that dream never came true.

Quick Links
WorshipPlanning.com – Please check out our AMAZING sponsors who make this little podcast possible. Tom Metz and crew have a fantastic resource available for all you worship leaders. Stop by and check try out WorshipPlanning.com today! Check out their new Twitter handle: @worshipsense

MandyThompson.com – Visit Mandy’s website.

Mandy on Twitter – Follow Mandy.

TheJohnMark.com – John Mark’s official website.

The Medicine – Get the John Mark’s new album on iTunes.

How He Loves Us – Link to the single on iTunes.

John Mark on Twitter – Follow John and keep up with what’s happening in his world.

All About Worship on iTunes – Visit us on iTunes and PLEASE leave some feedback! The smart folks at iTunes deleted our page by mistake recently along with all the listener reviews we had. We would greatly appreciate your leaving a review!

WorshipRetreat.org – The next All About Worship Retreat is on the calendar and space is limited to just 65 attendees! Early Bird Registration ends soon.

Giveaways

We are doing two big giveaways!

1. A FREE Registration to the Forge Conference. Sept 30 – Oct 2, 2010 in Ocean Grove, NJ.

2. A FREE Registration to National Worship Leader Conference East. Oct 5 – 7, 2010 in Lancaster, PA.

Just leave a comment on the shownotes for “Episode 48: Darrell Evans Q&A” to be entered to win. Deadline is Aug 18th.

3. Free music! Don’t forget, during the month of August, visit our blog once a week you’ll have a chance to win free CD’s!

Contact Us

Follow AAW – Follow our tweets for regular updates and news.

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Thanks

We want to say a BIG thanks to WorshipPlanning.com for sponsoring this episode. Start your 30 day free trial today. Be sure and follow them on Twitter at @worshipsense right here or find them on Facebook.

Thank you to Integrity Music for letting us play a clip of “How He Loves”! And HUGE thanks to John Mark for sharing his heart and time with us on the show!

And as always….THANK YOU for listening!!!!

Listen

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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!