The brainchild of longtime college minister Louie Giglio, Atlanta's Passion organization was founded in 1995 as an outreach to college students across the United States. Beginning with the first gathering in Austin, Texas, in early 1997, the members of the Passion Band have functioned as worship leaders for the annual events which, to date, have drawn more than 60,000 students. The thirteen tracks for Our Love Is Loud, the group's fifth release and fourth live effort, were pulled from the Atlanta and Los Angeles dates of the 25-city Passion Experience tour held during September and October of 2001.
Under the alternating direction of song leaders Chris Tomlin, David Crowder and Charlie Hall, the Passion collective offers up eight new compositions and five cover versions for the new album. Crowder's pleasing modern pop/rock adaptation of "Come Thou Fount" navigates a melodic and rhythmic path relatively close to that of the venerable classic hymn. Tomlin's takes on "God of Wonders" and "Here I Am to Worship" are likewise faithful, albeit slightly restrained, versions of their originals, while his rendition of the rousing Delirious? anthem, "My Glorious" comes closer to appropriating the energy and sweep of its predecessor.
The new entries on Loud form the bulk of its most memorable material. "Enough" is an infectiously bracing and beautifully melodic declaration of unwavering trust in God, while Charlie Hall's equally stirring "Prepare the Way" works a deft navigation from the hushed repetition of its title to all-out revelry and back again. Tomlin's spirited "Dance in the River" lifts the frenetic guitar line from U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" to drive its exhortative point home. And the delightfully retro new wave tinge of Hall's joyous "Psalm 126" once and for all answers the nagging universal question of what a Devo-led men's choir would sound like.
If none of Loud's tracks are quite able to lay hold of the sweeping majesty of "Better Is One Day," the gut-level infectious hook line of "I Found Jesus" or the simmering poignancy of "You Are My King" - all from the group's best-selling 2000 release Better Is One Day - its new offerings nonetheless possess an appealing, and consistently solid, character that stands up equal with, or superior to, that of any Passion release thus far. To be sure, producers Tom Laune and Nathan Nockels polish the entire effort with an appropriately sparkling pop aesthetic that forms the ideal foil for Loud's buoyant song array, making the latest effort a most worthy addition for Passion enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
3.5 tocks
