I was introduced to Matt Maher’s music when he opened for TobyMac several years ago. I’ve enjoyed his music ever since. This collection of songs, that were mostly written during the pandemic, celebrate friendship with God and other people. The album, which features a variety of musical genres, was recorded in a house owned by Marty Stuart. There are several collaborations, and a few of the songs have two versions, one of which was recorded live.
Here are a few brief comments about each song, several of which were released in advance of the official album release:
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More of this review
Music News
Song of the Week Lyrics: Only a Holy God/Holy, Holy, Holy by CityAlight
Crowder will release Milk & Cookies: A Merry Crowder Christmas on October 21. The 14-song project is a mix of originals, re-imagined classics, and creative collaborations. Continue reading →
This is the first of four Alive & Breathing releases from Matt Maher. Each EP will feature three songs – a new song, a live version of a song that Maher has written for other artists but hasn’t recorded himself, and a live version of some of Maher’s previous songs. Here are a few comments on each song on Vol. 1.
Run to the Father – This song was written by Maher with Cody Carnes and Ran Jackson and produced by Bernie Herms. The powerful song of surrender features piano, strings, drums, and backing choir vocals.
Key lyric: I run to the Father, I fall into grace I’m done with the hiding, no reason to wait My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend So, I’ll run to the Father, again and again
Lord, I Need You (Señor, Te Necesito) – This is a live version of Maher’s worship song “Lord, I Need You”, which Maher recorded with Bianca, who sings in Spanish. Maher wrote the song with Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves and Kristian Stanfill. The song features piano, bass, guitar, drums, and the audience singing along. The voices of Maher and Bianca blend well.
White Flag – This is a live version of a song that Chris Tomlin originally recorded at the Passion Conference. Maher wrote the song with Tomlin, Jason Ingram and Matt Redman. The song features synth, drums, guitar, bass and the audience singing along.
Key lyric: We raise our white flag We surrender all to you, all for you We raise our white flag, the war is over Love has come, your love has won
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Reviews of Alive & Breathing, Volumes 2-4 by Matt Maher
As we settle into 2020, there are a number of new and upcoming albums, in a variety of genres, that I’m excited about, and you may be as well. Let’s get started….
Let There Be Wonder is worship leader, singer/songwriter Matt Redman’s fourteenth album, and first since 2017’s Glory Song. Redman has given us worship classics like “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)” “The Heart of Worship” and “Blessed Be Your Name”. The new album was produced by Jacob Sooter and Joshua Silverberg, and was recorded live in front of more than 1,000 people at a California church. Redman wrote all of the songs with a variety of collaborators. This is the first really good album that I’ve heard of 2020, and is sure to make it onto my “Favorites” list for the year.
Click on ‘Continue Reading’ to find more new tunes. Enjoy! Continue reading →
Just as he did with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles (The White Album), Giles Martin, son of the long-time Beatles producer George Martin, has given us a remixed anniversary project on the 50th anniversary of the release of Abbey Road. The Super Deluxe Anniversary Edition includes a new mix of the original album, which was produced by George Martin, which includes the famous closing suite on side 2, John Lennon’s “Come Together” and two of George Harrison’s best songs – “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”. In addition, this edition includes 23 outtakes and demos, which was what I was most excited about. Continue reading →
There are two excellent resources that have recently been released that I want to recommend for your use this Advent season. They are Sinclair Ferguson’s new book Love Came Down at Christmas: Daily Readings for Advent and Matt Maher’s new album The Advent of Christmas. Below are my reviews of each. Continue reading →
This is Chris Tomlin’s first album since 2016’s excellent Never Lose Sight, which was my top album of that year. Holy Roar is another gift to the church from Tomlin, containing songs that will be sung in churches around the world.
Below are a few comments about each of the songs:
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More of this review; The Elements by Toby Mac and Happy Xmas by Eric Clapton
The Greatest Showman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) ****
The Greatest Showman is a very entertaining and well-made musical inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, featuring excellent new songs by the Oscar winning lyricists from La La Land. The film includes eleven new songs written by Oscar (La La Land) and Tony (Dear Evan Hansen) Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
Below are a few comments on each song:
The Greatest Show – The film opens with the title song performed in a big song and dance production number. Jackman, with his Broadway experience, is excellent in his portrayal of Barnum. He is joined on this song by Zac Efron, Zendaya and Keala Settle.
A Million Dreams – This song is initially sung by Ziv Zaifman as a young Barnum and then shifts to the adult Barnum with Jackman and Michelle Williams singing. In the film, the song is sung as we see a flashback in which Barnum, a young and impoverished tailor’s son, played by Ellis Rubin, first meets the privileged but sweet Charity, played by Skylar Dunn. We see them fall in love, but Charity’s father tells P.T. to stay away from his daughter, who is then sent away to a boarding school. But we see them stay in touch through letters. The film moves forward a dozen or so years, with Jackman portraying Barnum and Michelle Williams portraying his now wife Charity.
A Million Dreams (Reprise) – This short song is sung by Barnum’s daughters Caroline (Austyn Johnson) and Helen (Caroline Barnum) and Jackman.
Come Alive – This upbeat song is sung by Jackman, Keala Settle, Zendaya, Daniel Everidge.
The Other Side – In this song Jackman as Barnum convinces the socialite playwright Phillip Carlyle, played by Zac Efron to become his business partner.
Never Enough – This powerful song is performed in the film by Jenny Lind “The Swedish Nightingale”, the best singer in the world. While Lind is played in the film by Rebecca Ferguson, her singing is actually performed by Loren Allred.
This is Me – This powerful song has received an Oscar nomination. It is performed by Tony nominee Keala Settle, who plays the bearded lady in the film.
Rewrite the Stars – This song is performed by Zac Efron and Zendaya. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll remember their powerful scene in the circus ring about their love that has so many obstacles.
Tightrope – This beautiful song is sung by Michelle Williams as Barnum’s wife as she sings that she risks it all to be with Barnum and the life they’ve chosen.
Never Enough (Reprise) – This is a short reprise of Loren Allred’s powerful rendition of “Never Enough”
From Now On – This song starts slowly with Jackman’s vocal over piano and builds powerfully as the celebratory closing song of the film.
I’m not usually a fan of movie musicals, but I really enjoyed The Greatest Showman. It is a film that the entire family can enjoy. If you’ve seen the film, you’re most likely going to want to check out the movie soundtrack.
I was introduced to Fernando Ortega years ago when he opened for Michael Card. He has since become one of my favorite artists. This concert recording was originally available only as a DVD, but is now fortunately also available as an audio recording. Including 19 songs, this concert was recorded in 2004 at Northwestern College’s Maranatha Hall as Fernando was on tour supporting his 2004 album Fernando Ortega. He plays 7 of that album’s 12 songs here, including the touching and humorous “Mildred Madalyn Johnson”. The recording features Ortega and band, including an accordion, but the focus is on Ortega’s gentle vocals over his piano.
If you’ve seen Ortega in concert you know that one of the best things is often times humorous introductions to his songs, which are not included here, the focus being solely on the music. In addition to the songs from Fernando Ortega, he includes many of his most-loved songs, such as “Creation Song”, “Lord of Eternity”, “Children of the Living God”, “This Good Day”, “Sing to Jesus” and “Our Great God”. This is Ortega’s only live album and it’s a gem.
Flowers in the Dirt (Special Edition) – Paul McCartney ****
This 2-CD “Special Edition” (the release comes in a number of different configurations), of McCartney’s excellent 1989 album Flowers in the Dirt features a remastered version of the original 13-song album (plus Où Est Le Soleil?, which wasn’t on the original album), on one disc, and nine previously unreleased demos McCartney recorded with Elvis Costello on the second disc. The demos are what really got my attention on this release, the 10th installment of McCartney’s Archive Collection, all of which have been personally supervised by McCartney. This album has special significance for me as well. It was the album McCartney toured on for his 1989-90 World Tour, on which I saw three of the shows, the first of now twelve concerts I’ve seen of the former Beatle.
Listeners will be pleased with the remastered version of the original album. It features such strong songs as “My Brave Face” (his last Billboard solo Top 40 hit), “This One”, “Put it There” and the 89-90 World Tour opener “Figure of Eight”. The original demos with Costello are: Continue reading →
Music Review: The Best of The Cutting Edge 1965 – 1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12 by Bob Dylan. ****
In 1991 Bob Dylan released the first three volumes of The Bootleg Series, most of which I have in my collection. The Cutting Edge is the twelfth volume in the well-done series. It includes alternate versions, outtakes and some studio banter from an incredible fourteen month creative stretch from January 1965 to March 1966, when Dylan moved from folk to electric and recorded three extraordinary albums Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and the double album Blonde on Blonde with producers Tom Wilson and Bob Johnston.
There are three configurations of The Cutting Edge that have been released. The Best of The Cutting Edge is a two-disc, thirty-six track collection. There are also six and a massive eighteen disc versions available.
The production of these songs from fifty some years ago is amazingly clear. I loved hearing the organ coming through so clearly. We get an inside look into Dylan’s creative process during this period. Longtime Dylan fans will easily discern these versions from original album versions we have been familiar with all these years. Arrangements vary, such as up-tempo versions of “Visions of Johanna” and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (Take 8, Alternate Take)” or a very different take of “Just Like a Woman”. At times the lyrics differ from the original album version such as the rocking “Tombstone Blues Take 1”. This doesn’t surprise, as those of us who have seen him in concert several times know he often changes up the lyrics to songs.
Many of the songs will be very familiar to Dylan fans – “Like a Rolling Stone”, “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man” (which ends abruptly with Dylan complaining about the drums), “Highway 61”, “Positively 4th Street” and “I Want You”, while others will be less known – “She’s Your Lover Now” and “Can You Please Crawl Out of Your Window?”.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this release, giving us glimpses into the genius of Dylan during arguably his most creative period. As a result, this is my favorite volume in The Bootleg Series. This version also comes with a 60-page booklet, with photos and liner notes. Highly recommended for all Dylan fans.
Artists and Poets: Lecrae. Lecrae inspires us all to see the magic inside a personal story put to poetry and a poem put to song.
“Hellurrrr!!!” Adele may have a worldwide hit with “Hello”, but Madea knocks it out of the park with her version.
Restored “Hey Jude” Video. Hey Jude topped the charts in Britain for two weeks and for 9 weeks in America, where it became The Beatles longest-running No.1 in the US singles chart as well as the single with the longest running time. This video was first broadcast on David Frost’s Frost On Sunday show, four days after it was filmed. To help with the filming an audience of around 300 local people, as well as some of the fans that gathered regularly outside Abbey Road Studios were brought in for the song’s finale. I remember watching it as a 12 year-old Beatles fan when it was first aired in America a month later on 6 October 6, 1968 on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Hymns in the Spotlight. Laura McClellan writes “Season 9 of the popular NBC vocal competition show The Voice (which concluded on December 15) brought several young artists into the spotlight with one thing in common: their faith in Christ. Roberts, pop hopeful Jordan Smith, and youthful crooner Braiden Sunshine each chose to use their moment on national television to exalt Christ in a bold way—singing hymns.”
Favorite Music Quotes of the Week:
Change begins at the end of your comfort zone. Lecrae
A distorted view of grace is taking the LOVE of Christ seriously without taking the Lordship of Christ seriously. Andy Mineo
If Wile E. Coyote had enough money for all that Acme stuff, why didn’t he just buy dinner? Crowder
Abide with Me by Matt Maher and Matt Redman
This week we complete our countdown to my annual “My Favorites” listing with my #1 song of the year, “Abide in Me”, written and recorded by both Matt Maher and Matt Redman. It was included on Maher’s album Saints and Sinners and Redman’s album Unbroken Praise.
I have a home, eternal home But for now I walk this broken world You walked it first, You know our pain But You show hope can rise again up from the grave
Abide with me, abide with me Don’t let me fall, and don’t let go Walk with me and never leave Ever close, God abide with me
There in the night, Gethsemane Before the cross, before the nails Overwhelmed, alone You prayed You met us in our suffering and bore our shame
Abide with me, abide with me Don’t let me fall, and don’t let go Walk with me and never leave Ever close, God abide with me
Oh love that will not ever let me go Love that will not ever let me go You never let me go Love that will not ever let me go Oh You never let us go
And up ahead, eternity We’ll weep no more, we’ll sing for joy, abide withme
Here are 4 new Christmas albums, as well as 3 other new releases that you might be interested in:
Alive & Breathing, Vol. 1 – Matt Maher
As we settle into 2020, there are a number of new and upcoming albums, in a variety of genres, that I’m excited about, and you may be as well. Let’s get started….
There are a number of new and upcoming albums, in a variety of genres, that I would like to share with you that you may be interested in.
Abbey Road (Super Deluxe Edition
There are two excellent resources that have recently been released that I want to recommend for your use this Advent season. They are Sinclair Ferguson’s new book Love Came Down at Christmas: Daily Readings for Advent and Matt Maher’s new album The Advent of Christmas. Below are my reviews of each.
Holy Roar by Chris Tomlin
The Greatest Showman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Change begins at the end of your comfort zone. Lecrae
