Hillsong - This Is Our God

The Jono Show would like to welcome our newest reviewer to the stage, Mr Little Jon. Me and Little Jon have been friends since we were very little, so please give him a very warm welcome.
His first review is of The Latest Hillsong album "This is our God"

The first time I heard this album I was in a prayer room in August 2008, and I loved it. If you want a worship album to quieten your heart and help you relax in God’s presence you can’t much better than this. Because the majority of these songs are simple and fairly repetitive, it doesn’t take long for these 16 new songs to become familiar, and you’ll soon find them stuck in your head.

But for me, the problem with Hillsong’s albums has never been the quality of the songs, or the recording, or even some of the cheesy lyrics at times; but that all the songs, after a while, sound the same. The sound is good, but it can easily get tiresome. Take a look at bands like U2, Delirious? and Switchfooot. Their success is partly due to the variety of sounds they can produce, within and between albums. Does worship music always have to have such a clean sound? I don’t think so.

Back to the good stuff; you can’t deny that the songs on these albums aren’t creative and very powerful. It’s refreshing to hear bands not afraid to carry songs on and continue worshipping after a song would normally have finished. This is probably the best example of this since Delious?’s album Glo. Some people may accuse Hillsong of putting on more of a show than a worship time, but in my opinion, if your focus is on God you are worshipping. It doesn’t matter if it’s an electric guitar solo, a symphony orchestra, or an organ that leads you into his presence – it’s the fact that you’re there that matters.

Little Jon's score :- 8 out of 10

Live To Worship 4

Various Artist
review by Jono

It’s like the arrival of the newest Star Wars movie, so far we’ve had three compilations albums from the “Live to Worship” series and now our wait is over and the newest offereing has arrived. It seems like only yesterday that I was given the first of, what is now known in the industry as, “the best compilation album series”. So, what’s new with this album? Live to Worship 4 features 28 tracks, using only original artist recordings, compiled from todays greatest worship songs. Some people may say that sounds perfect recipe for a compilation album and I would have to agree.

Each song adds something new and unique to the blend from the beautiful, indie “God of this City” to the equally inspiring R&B sound of “I am a friend of God” by Israel Houghton. This truly is a great album, full of uplifting songs that you’ll hear in churches for years to come. My only concern is the number of songs which also feature on other compilation albums, or have been around for a few years. This isn’t to say that they are bad songs, simply that people may think it’s just more of the same.

All in all Live to Worship 4 is a great addition to the series. Is it the best? I’m not so sure, it’s good, it does exactly what you expect of it but I don’t think it surpasses its predecessors. In movie terms, is the 4th film the last installment or is there more waiting just around the corner?

Jono Verdict 8 out of 10

Buy this album at Purashop.com

Brenton Brown - Because of Your Love

review by Jono

When artists or bands, who have been around for years, release a new album we often find ourselves developing an idea of how we expect it to sound, even before we have heard the first chord. Sadly bands do, all too often, get trapped into a certain sound or style and this can cause problems, sometimes leaving the music feeling tired or stale. When I got Brenton Brown’s new album, ‘Because of Your Love’, I thought I knew what it was going to sound like; thankfully he surprised me.

Brenton Brown’s first album on Survivor Records was ‘Everlasting God’, a project crammed full of amazing songs. Indeed the song ‘Everlasting God’ itself has become a major church worship song globally and has been featured on albums by Chris Tomlin, YFriday and Lincoln Brewster: Brewster’s version even topped the US CCM chart.

This new album is 13 tracks of pure, high standard songwriting. In terms of style Brenton hasn’t really taken this album anywhere new, he hasn’t changed the face of worship. However, although not breaking any moulds, he uses this well-established, and well-liked, formula to write and record 13 great songs which can be used in churches or small groups alike without sounding stale or worn.

On this album Brenton has delved into his past to re-record 3 classic Vineyard songs, ‘Holy Holy’, ‘All Who Are Thirsty’ and ‘Humble King’. Initially I found this annoying as I thought they were simply old songs being re-recorded. Although they are well recorded I still wonder if maybe Brenton could, or should, have had 3 new ones to work with. The album does feature a couple of co-writes with Paul Baloche, ‘Our God Saves’ & ‘Because of Your Love’, which are both very, very good.

Brenton’s band features Dwayne Larring on an album recorded to the highest standard and produced by Joe Baldridge (Tree 63’s ‘Sunday Album’). The recording and mixing of this album are pure quality.

All in all, this album displays the high level of songwriting skill, and the energy, that we would expect from Brenton Brown as well as some of the best vocals I have ever heard. Be ready to sing these songs at a variety of different events and festivals in addition to your own churches.

I would have given this album 8 out of 10 but sadly the inclusion of the 3 old Vineyard songs somewhat spoilt it for me. So….

Jono Verdict:- 7 out of 10

ELECTRALYTE:-SCRATCH BENEATH THE SURFACE

Review by Jono
Electralyte first came to my attention when I saw them supporting Delirious on their UK tour. The last thing I expect when I go to gigs it to be blown away by the support band & when this previously unknown, to me, 3-piece ensemble took to the stage I must admit I feared the worst. I immediately worried that they were simply going to be a Christian Blink 182, or Greenday, rock punk band who should have released an album 4 yrs agowho were trying to jump on a bandwagon that had long since left. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised & really enjoyed their set. Then, one fine summers day, an Electralyte album popped through my door; from then on I've been a massive fan.

Firstly, lets go back in time slightly to give you a brief history of the band. The band was originally started because the Salvation Army wanted to start a rock band, in order to help young people worship in a style that is more accessible & familiar to them; Electralyte was born. In 2006 they receivedsome great reviews in the Christian music press for the album "Breakout" and they have continued their success from there. Initially brought together as a 3-piece, the band have recently added a second guiterist to the line-up bringing a new edge to their sound.

Back in the present day and we have their newest offering, the newly released "Scratch Beneath The Surface". So, what does it sound like? Let me start by saying that I love this album; it's so British, so in your face, without being rude; aggressive without shouting; rock and roll without the egos. An amalgamation of the best bits of British music without any of the unwelcome extras that so often feature. If I had to put them in a box I would have to say they're a combination of the anthem style of The Manics with the sound of Steve or early Stereophonics.

This album contains the perfect balance of anthems, rock tunes and ballads needed to create an amazing overall sound. You've got the radio singles in "Athens" and "Again Again", the live anthem in "Where In The World", the beautiful chords & vocals in "Stardust" and even the slightly strange "Lets Get Married" all of which come together to corm an album which blew me away.

If you want an album that is pure rock yet still has a whole lot of roll, this is it! The new British revolution starts here!

Jono rating:- Ten out of ten
Stand out tracks:- "Again Again", "Where In The World" & "Stardust"

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