In recent years, countless contemporary groups and artists have released worship albums, including Kutless, Michael W. Smith, Newsboys, and many, many more. Newsong steps up to the plate with this new project. The group has included worship songs in their concert sets for years, so it is not much of a surprise that the group has decided to release a worship album.
The group does manage to throw in some new songs and create some good versions of established hit worship songs. The album has that simple Newsong feel to it and is not overproduced. The group also manages to let their vocals shine and not be overpowered by the instruments. One of the highlights of this project is their version of "Wonderful Maker," which has the makings of a radio hit and a fan favorite. The group also delivers a strong version of the popular hymn, "How Great Thou Art."
The biggest strength of this album is its length. When many of this year's releases have been less than 40 minutes long, this project is a whopping hour and fifteen minutes long. This also is related to one of the project's weaknesses as some of the tracks go on too long and just feel repetitive. Five tracks on this album are all over six minutes long. One example of this is "My Glorious," which is six minutes and 34 seconds long. Even the first track, "Blessed Be Your Name" feels repetitive after a while. Some of these extra long tracks would be better if they were cut in half.
Another weakness of the project is that very little of it feels like a live album. Sure, there is crowd applause after some of the songs and even some talking by the group, but that's about it. For the most part, the acoustics don't sound any different than they might on a studio album. There is very little crowd interaction. One would expect more of a live recording.
Surprisingly, one of the weakest tracks on the album is the final one, a live version of their hit, "Arise My Love." This track risks overexposure after being on both of their best of CDs and now this album, which adds up to being on three albums by the group in five years. It also doesn't flow with the worship feel of the rest of the album.
Newsong is a veteran group that has put out quite a few hits, even before their smash hit, "Christmas Shoes." This is a creative group and one that is very popular with their fans. Their Jam tours routinely bring in big numbers. This is a group that does include some worship songs in their set. Still, while this is a good worship release, it just doesn't live up to the level of the group's previous works. It is a good worship release, but this group is capable of much more.
2.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2005Reviewed by Brian A. SmithLive Worship + Rescue proves one thing about the CCM world: they will beat a horse even to the point where no one realizes it still draws breath. Yet another adult contemporary modern worship album, NewSong jumps on the latest bandwagon with this disc. This is a band that travels much better in person than on disc. As with most worship discs, it is filled with contemporary worship tunes written…Similar sounding releases
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