On a previous album release by the Bethel Church, Redding, Brian Johnson asked "What does it sound like, when heaven comes down?" If worship is to be the order of the day in the heavenly realm (and the book of Revelation certainly points to this being the case), I would suggest that we are starting to shape what we'd like it to sound like. The latest release from Bethel in the form of Be Lifted High draws on everything the current "sound" dominating many contemporary worship albums has to offer - vocals pushed to the fore, driving guitars and bass, subtle yet highly effective keys, and intricately woven drumbeats. Then Bethel, as we've come to expect from many of their endeavours, ask God to take everything to a whole new level, and He provides. Let’s take a closer look.....

A couple of days ago, Jenn Johnson tweeted “from the first 5 seconds of “You Are Good” happiness increases. Breathe Him in today”. That, to me, sums this album up perfectly, it’s about proclaiming His goodness, for His glory, for our salvation. The searing guitar riff for ‘You Are Good’ sets the track up, then after a brief pause for contemplation we are taken into a rocking praise anthem, singing because He is good, dancing because He is good, shouting He is good. From here, Brian Johnson continues with his take on his own ‘One Thing Remains’ offering, (that you may have previously heard Chris Quilala lead on Jesus Culture’s Come Away album). I have previously expressed my admiration for this song, but to reiterate, this is quite a song, another one that would fit Jenn Johnson’s ‘happiness’ category - you just can’t help smiling when you think of the amount of love God has for us.

From here we go to, in my opinion, the best track on the album - ‘Furious’. Driving undertones led by Jeremy Riddle’s unmistakable vocal gifting combine with powerful lyrics that succinctly describe God’s burning love for us. Jeremy Riddle has recently taken over as assistant worship pastor at Bethel, adding a great asset to an already highly gifted and anointed team. This offering, together with his other 2 songs on the CD (‘God of the Redeemed’ & ‘One Thirst’ (also featuring Steffany Frizzell)) continue with the same quality and blessing as displayed in Jeremy’s previous albums, and fit perfectly with the Bethel sound.

Another particular highlight of this album for me is Jenn Johnson’s ‘God I Look to You’. Certain Bethel-based albums and tracks have a habit of putting me in a place where I have no choice but to believe God is standing in front of me, forcing my attention on Him and Him only. The chorus of “Hallelujah, our God Reigns”, that you want to go on for eternity when singing this track, does just that. Jenn’s heart, as with many at this church, is wholly for the Lord, and this is an infectious attribute when she’s worshipping. This chorus is meant to be sung at the top of your voice, with passion, fervour and love, and Jenn does all this, and more besides, leading the congregation into a great place of praise for the Lord.

This album not only sees more good offerings come from established, well known worship leaders from Bethel, but also sees the emergence of some newer ones. One such leader is William Matthews, whose energy, passion and hunger for the Lord is abundant on his two tracks on the album - “Hope’s Anthem” and “Deep Cries Out”. William’s page on Bethel Music’s website describes him as fun-loving and energetic, two qualities you would definitely associate these tracks with. I’d add one more - natural. I love it when worship music is sung from the heart, with integrity and authenticity, and William delivers this with these great offerings.

So, if you are looking for an authentic, passionate live worship album this year, look no further. Close your eyes, sit back, and do as these guys do (and inspire us to do) day in, day out, worship the Lord with all your heart.

 

I found this great passage in the sleeve notes of Jeremy Riddle's new live album (Prepare the Way: Live) - for me it paints a great picture of worship:

"There is a moment that I love more than any other moment I've experienced on earth. I love the moment when God's people gather together, lift holy hands, and with one raised voce exalt the King of Kings. I love these moments because God Himself inhabits these moments. He sits enthroned on the praises of His saints. This recording was not an attempt at musical perfection or nailing the best vocal takes. In fact, at one event where multiple songs were recorded, I was singing with walking pneumonia and my vocals were barely hanging on. This recording was about capturing worship and the felt sense of His manifest presence that was often strong during the events where these recordings took place. So we release this recording in hope that it also releases worship in your heart and His presence fills you with joy."

As worship musicians, it can be really easy to focus on the music, to chide ourselves at missing a chord change or singing a note slightly off tune. It is reflections such as this that keep you thinking more about the worship than the music, and more about the heart than the musicality.

Jeremy Riddle - Prepare The Way (Live)

When you listen to a live worship album, you don’t just want to listen to it, you want to feel part of it. Jeremy Riddle covers this succinctly from the outset of this album - praying for His presence in the worship, and carefully building a chorus to the uplifting “Rain Down”. Over the past month or so, I have been seen this idea of starting a worship set with a chorus coming in more and more, and I feel that it sets the tone, atmosphere, and focus of a worship set squarely on the Lord from the word go. With a simple, yet very effective chorus such as this, worshippers have an opportunity to enter into His presence without over-complication of lyrics or musical texture, and again this is apparent with Jeremy’s offering. I recently commented that Jesus Culture had managed to create a ‘brand’ to their sound, while using worship songs written by a wide variety of songwriters, and to an extent Jeremy Riddle has also done this (though this is by no means a comparison). The opening track (“Rain Down”) was written by Delirious - and is quite upbeat by Jeremy’s standards, while “How He Loves” was written by John Mark McMillan, though this is closer to Jeremy’s style. The use of the songs of others in this context is a nice touch, very few worship leaders do a 10 song set without including another songwriter’s material, and it provides the album with a sense of familiarity. Speaking of familiarity, the set includes many of Jeremy’s better-known self-penned songs - “Sweetly Broken”, “Full Attention” and “Stand In Awe” all make the album. The ‘branding’ of this album is all in Jeremy’s unique, rootsy vocals for me. With an expansive, though (in my opinion) not inaccessible range, melodic control, and a passion being expressed insightfully, this is a very approachable album. It was recently commented to me that it isn’t always easy to worship to recorded media (CDs, DVDs etc.), that the ‘corporate’ feeling of worship could somehow be lost, though with this album I feel this isn’t the case. The production of this album has a very ‘live’ feel to it, crowd vocals come across well, and there is a distinct atmosphere to the whole affair. I must confess that when he first came on to the worship scene a few years ago I wasn’t sure how much I liked him, yet the live album has presented him in a new light. Give it a listen and see what you think.