Michael W. Smith has nearly always included either classic hymns or self-penned praise standards such as "Great Is The Lord" and "How Majestic Is Your Name" on his own albums. That and the fact that, as of late, he has been filling in as worship leader for Billy Graham's evangelical crusades, makes Smith's new Exodus project seem a fitting and logical next step.
The new album, a 12-song project produced by Smith and featuring worship-oriented songs and instrumentals from Smith and other artists, alternates, for the most part, between intimate portraits of man's need for God and anthemic declarations of outright praise. On the intimate side, the acoustic "Nothin'" by Chris Rice, with its folksy sound and Rice's mellow vocal style, makes use of careful wordplay to present the familiar subject of Christ's blood in a new and clever way. And Dan Haseltine's melancholy singing style meshes nicely with Jars of Clay's trademark harmonies on the highly textured "Needful Hands," which has a subdued, nearly refrained, feel similar to much of the work on the group's Much Afraid album.
On the anthemic side of the album, Crystal Lewis' earthy, acrobatic vocal styling infuses the verses of "Salvation Belongs To Our God" with a distinctively soulful feel, while the use of multiple lead vocals on the chorus gives it the classic Integrity/Hosanna worship series sound. Michael W. Smith's estimable version of Rich Mullins' "I See You" is fairly true to the original, keeping its signature call-and-response vocals while adding a more noticeable acoustic piano sound to give the remake a more organic character.
From Cindy Morgan's emotive voice on the rousing "Make Us One" to the energetic pop feel of dc Talk's "My Will," the album is solid almost throughout. Still, it does falter in a few places. The sluggish, overly prominent percussion work on the Katinas' "Draw Me Close" does tend to overwhelm the group's fine vocal work and divert attention from the song's passionate lyrics. And the excessively bombastic jam sessions at the beginning and end of Third Day's "Agnus Dei" seem superfluous to this beautifully reverent piece (one of the best on the album) and out of context with the musical scheme of the rest of the release.
It would be safe to say that, these days, albums promising new and innovative slants on praise and worship music are not rare, nor do they often live up to their own billing. Despite all that, Smith has nonetheless managed to construct an enjoyable and cohesive collection of songs that, taken as a whole, makes a fairly impressive musical statement. Indeed, what the Exodus project lacks in variety, it surely compensates for in consistency, establishing a pleasant and reverent tone of worship at the album's outset and rarely deviating from it.
Other coverage for this album
The Rebel Base 2001Reviewed by Josh HurstWorship music is an ever-growing trend in Christian music. Many artists and almost all record labels are jumping on to the worship bandwagon. Some of the modern worship music is good, some of it is bad. To be honest with you, though, I personally feel that there is more bad than good. A lot of contemporary praise and worship music is poorly produced, and the same songs are used over and over…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by Dave LandselI think most modern "praise and worship" music is a tacky American cultural thing. I was raised a snob, you see, in the highest of high church environments. Ours was not a church where one waved one's hands in the air during Sunday Service, singing "Our God Reigns," and it was our business as youngsters to scoff at those that did so. I'm over that, mostly. I must admit, however, (with the…Similar sounding releases
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