A bit of a disappointment
10/29/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is the fifth commercially-released worship album put out by John Tesh's record label, and is the follow-up to Tesh's "A Deeper Faith" record. While some of the songs are good in the opinion of this reviewer ("Bring Me to Life" and "Pour Out Your Spirit," in particular) and I enjoy the messages presented in worship songs, this album falls short of the mark in two main areas.Firstly, contemporary worship songs as a whole tend to be simple and repetitive; oftentimes, the same verse is repeated over and over again (here, on "We Fall Down").Secondly, although this album bears Tesh's name, leading the purchaser/listener to believe that he is the record's primary artist, he only makes fleeting appearances on it. "God Who Gives You Hope," "My Redeemer," "You Will Know the Truth," and "I Am The Vine" are actually narratives performed by Tesh. Each one is less than 30 seconds in length, and is more of a segue than an acutal music track. And the one track on which Tesh actually does sing (the aforementioned "We Fall Down,") first appeared last year on the original release of his "Christmas Worship" record. The remaining musical tracks are carried by various worship artists, many of which appeared on Tesh's previous worship release, "Awesome God."So, if you are planning on purchasing this record with the anticipation of hearing new worship music performed and sung by Tesh, you are likely to be a bit disappointed, as I am. If, however, you are an aficianado of contemporary worship songs and don't really care who performs them, you are likely to enjoy this record as much as the next one."