Search - Passion :: Passion Awakening

Great for personal listening, so-so for corporate worship

Zachary M. Hicks | Denver, CO | 03/17/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Worth getting it? If you're buying this album for personal edification, get it. You will be encouraged. If you're a worship leader looking for congregational material, save money and just buy the few songs worth evaluating (see the song-by-song analysis below).



Songs I would most likely end up using in worship: "You Alone Can Rescue" (Redman), "Our God" (Tomlin).



Accessibility: As usual, their sung keys favor tenors and altos (singing in nearly the same vocal range), alienating the bass and soprano vocal range. But good worship leaders should have the musical ability to re-set these songs in accessible keys (and if they don't, they should think about getting some musical training or else choosing a different vocation...because they're not serving the church well when they lead these songs in the recorded keys). Once the songs are set in congregation-friendly keys, the majority of them are accessible and singable for most congregations.



Theological depth: Passion still cannot stand up to the great hymns of the faith, but the longer they're around the more their songs progress to being God-centered rather than human-centered, with a stronger gospel focus. There is still a lack of substantive reflection on one major part of the Christian experience--suffering. Where one of my friends had described the texts and styles coming from Hillsong United as "adolescent," I would comparatively describe this latest collection from Passion a bit more mature (20s, early 30s?) with some deeper songs that push the average upward. Whether they know it or not, the Passion folks still reflect a charismatic/Pentecostal theological perspective in the way they choose to express, experience, and request God's presence.



Musicality: As always, superb. I would characterize the style as modern, yet conservative, with a slight edge. They are not as experimental with rhythm, electric guitar work, synth sounds, and song structure as, say, Hillsong United, but they aren't remaining stuck in the same stylistic forms that they were using on the previous albums (I keep comparing them to Hillsong United, so it's worth pointing out that United actually made it on this album). Musically, Tomlin's "Our God" is enjoyable to me, especially for its bridge and musical interlude (see below). The album is well-produced and polished, as always, and they've included more of the congregational "sound" (background voices) than in previous albums. Probably because of the influence of Hillsong United, there are more congregational "whoa's" (I don't know what else to call them); they appear on several tracks. I personally like this (to me they serve the biblical function of "shout of praise") but I know that it seems to many in the church like pointless, rock-concert frivolity. Still, could congregational "whoa's" be the new version of call-and-response antiphonal singing? Ancient-future, baby!



For the full review, including a song-by-song analysis, go here: (...)"

Passion [Awakening]

Kevin R. Davis | Perkasie, PA | 03/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Passion: Awakening was recorded live in Atlanta this past January with more than 22,000 college-age students in attendance. I eagerly wait for each new Passion worship collection, From the beginning Passion268 has been rooted in the confession of Isaiah 26:8: "Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our souls." As a result, Passion seeks to gather college and university students across the nation and around the world to seek the face of God, asking Him to ignite in our souls a passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ and a desire to spread His fame to everyone on earth. Louie Giglio says "We believe God is calling out a generation of college students committed to the glory of His name in all things. God longs to bring awakening to every campus, mobilizing the students of today to finish the task of global evangelization in this generation. God is calling us out for this purpose, in this moment, for His renown."



I've been collecting every Passion worship collection since the inception in 1998. The conferences have developed and introduced worship leaders David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Charlie Hall, and most recently Kristian Stanfill and Steve Fee. My favorite Chris Tomlin songs have generally been the new live recordings found on the Passion worship collections, going back to "We Fall Down," "Enough," "How Great Is Our God" and "God Of This City." This collection starts with the great new Chris Tomlin worship anthem "Awakening," which I hope will soon be a song I'll be singing with fellow believers, along with the 2 other new Chris Tomlin songs "Our God" and "Chosen Generation." "Awakening" has a great worshipful chorus which ends with "Let Your will be done in me," which is the cry of my heart as well. There are 8 new songs on this 12 song collection. The new songs "Say, Say" by Kristian Stanfill, "King of Heaven" by Charlie Hall and "Where The Spirit of the Lord Is" by Christy Nockels and Chris Tomlin are all upbeat, catchy and worshipful.



The standout songs for me are back to back starting with my favorite song of last year, "How He Loves" as recorded by David Crowder*Band. The energy and power of this song are amazing as a studio version, but the song was truly meant to be experienced live and loud, make sure you turn up the volume when you listen to "How He Loves" and you'll be drained as you sing along with this amazing song. The new Christy Nockels song "Healing Is In Your Hands" gives me chills. I could hardly imagine Christy could out-sing herself after "Hosanna," but don't miss this amazing new song. You'll be mesmerized by the power and beauty of the lyrics and Christy's incredible vocals.



The collection also includes great live versions of "You Alone Can Rescue" by Matt Redman and "Rise and Sing" by Fee which are wonderful new worship songs from albums released by those artists last year. David Crowder*Band adds another new recording with "Like A Lion" and I was thrilled to hear Hillsong United's "With Everything" as the closing song, which is a great way to cap off this stellar album.



CLOSING THOUGHTS

These are some of the best new original worship songs of the past few years. If you want to experience a worship "awakening," then you can't go wrong with the biggest names in the business. Tomlin, Stanfill, Crowder, Nockels, Hall, Redman, Fee and Hillsong United are all in top form on this excellent Passion: Awakening album, easily the best in this great series."

Wonderful!

jjpilot | Kansas City, MO | 03/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had the privilege to go to the Passion 2010 as a leader at my church. The music was recorded live with over 21,000 college students!



You can't go wrong with artists like: Hillsong United, Charlie Hall, David Crowder, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, Chris Tomlin, Steve Fee, and Matt Redman. (Forgive me if I've left one out.)



I got my copy yesterday and have been listening to it non-stop. The music is amazing, and especially when you can hear the crowd sing along. Some of the songs have been featured on some of the artists' cds, but most of the songs were new. The songs aren't just "feel good" worship music. Most of them have great lyrics and meaning. I hope this review helps!



To God be the Glory forever and ever!



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