In an unprecedented worship experience, the City on a Hill project is a community effort that brings together top performers to glorify God. With an amazing roster of talent that includes Sixpence None the Richer, Jars... more » of Clay, FFH, Third Day, Caedmon's Call, and others, this tender collection of songs is more than a showcase of separate worship styles. Many of the compositions are collaborative efforts among the bands, and this fact gives the recording a distinct feel of common ownership among the musicians. Breaking from their usual energized styles, the performers take a different slant in these songs, with most tracks offering an acoustically oriented and soft-sung vibe. Any fan surely will appreciate the witness of these industry leaders, who focus their talents solely toward God and the new musical flavors that ensue. In conjunction with this CD, the book City on a Hill: Reflections on Our Spiritual Journeys brings together journal-like entries that were penned by the artists, and offers a glimpse into their inner lives. --Israel Button« less
In an unprecedented worship experience, the City on a Hill project is a community effort that brings together top performers to glorify God. With an amazing roster of talent that includes Sixpence None the Richer, Jars of Clay, FFH, Third Day, Caedmon's Call, and others, this tender collection of songs is more than a showcase of separate worship styles. Many of the compositions are collaborative efforts among the bands, and this fact gives the recording a distinct feel of common ownership among the musicians. Breaking from their usual energized styles, the performers take a different slant in these songs, with most tracks offering an acoustically oriented and soft-sung vibe. Any fan surely will appreciate the witness of these industry leaders, who focus their talents solely toward God and the new musical flavors that ensue. In conjunction with this CD, the book City on a Hill: Reflections on Our Spiritual Journeys brings together journal-like entries that were penned by the artists, and offers a glimpse into their inner lives. --Israel Button
Suzi H. (Bookmom) from DURHAM, NC Reviewed on 2/20/2013...
This is a POWERFUL P&W cd! My fave songs are Unified, Covenant Song, Where You Are.
Jennifer G. from HOMEWOOD, IL Reviewed on 6/10/2009...
This special album is a part of a community collaboration of musicians and artists in both solo and joint efforts. Features Jars of Clay, Sixpence None The Richer, FFH, Caedmon's Call, Third Day, The Choir, Gene Eugene, and Sonicflood with Peter Furler (of the Newsboys).
CD Reviews
Though early this is probably the best worship CD of 2000
Robert A. Terrell | 08/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Recently there has been a trend of various artists working together and producing compilation worship albums. Some of these compilations have been tremendous (for example, "Exodus") while others have fallen far short of expectations. "City on a Hill" is one of the compilations that works. The entire album is extremely worshipful in a "Sixpence None the Richer" / "Caedmon's Call" style. There are new songs from Third Day, Sixpence None The Richer, FFH, Jars of Clay, and then compilation songs from The Choir, Sonic Flood, Peter Furler (Newsboys), and the late Gene Eugene. The songs work well together, flowing both in lyrical theme and music style. If you are a fan of any of the artists the CD is well worth getting but it also stand alone as a superb worship album."
Awesome cd and awesome worship cd
H. COMBS | JEFFERSONTOWN, KENTUCKY USA | 08/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
""City on a Hill" is an awesome CD produced by Steve Hindalong, percussionist and chief lyricist of The Choir. The recording features collaborative efforts by outstanding artists such as Caedmon's Call, Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer, Third Day, FFH and The Choir. Leigh Nash, vocalist for Sixpence, opens the CD with a lovely prelude on "God of Wonders." This track written by Marc Byrd and Hindalong also features terrific vocals by Mac Powell (Third Day) and Cliff and Danielle Young (Caedmon's Call). Byrd also penned "With Every Breath," a song of hope and encouragement, which features Nash and Dan Haseltine (Jars) on vocals. The late Gene Eugene appears on two tracks including "I Remember You" on which he plays the piano to Powell's stirring vocals that remind us of Christ's death and resurrection. My personal favorite of this 13-track recording is Hindalong's "Precious Jesus." Derri Daugherty (The Choir) handles the guitars, and he a Nash team up on the vocals. To hear Daugherty and Nash together is a tremendous blessing in itself, and the passion with which this number was written and performed makes it a perfect song of reflection and communion. Whether you regularly invest in worship CD's or not, "City on a Hill" is a recording you will find entertaining, moving, worshipful, and full of praise. This is not just a great worship recording; this is a great recording."
A Wonderful Worship Collaboration
zakvta | 12/26/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is not about artists getting together to upstage one another. No one on this CD is trying to have the "best" song. Everyone that participated in this CD had one goal in mind and that is to worship and praise God. The songs on here are very meaningful and deep.Inevitably there will be some songs that you will enjoy more than others. The two that stand out for me are the opening and closing tracks. The opening track, "God of Wonders" has Leigh Nash, of Sixpence None The Richer fame, singing a haunting opening. While Danielle Young of Caedmon's Call sings background, Mac Powell from Third Day sings the lead but then the vocals change to Cliff Young, also of Caedmon's Call. It is true to the spirit of the CD that no one is trying to "shine through." Then the closing track, "This Road" from Jars of Clay is a wonderful song that wraps up the CD very well. The lyrics are deep and emotional which is typical of Jars of Clay. The accordian, guitar, and mandolin provides a really unique and awesome sound. Over all I'd have to say this is a perfect CD. Perfect in respects of what they went out to do and what the accomplished."
Incredible CD raises the standard of worship music!
Soozie4Him | Chicago suburbs | 09/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From the liner notes: "It has been said that when our fire burns brightly and warm enough, those who stand in the dark and cold will be drawn to it. It is my hope that as you listen to the songs on this project, you too will become a part of the community, and that together, our fire will burn more brightly. Then we will indeed be "a city on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matt 5:14)The artists who worked together on this project indeed formed a community. They sang on each other's songs, sometimes just one person from a group would do a solo on another group's song. These unique mixtures of talent and their dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ result in the most incredible worship album I've seen in quite some time.This is a hard album to describe - the best comparison I can make would be to Exodus, which was released a couple of years ago. A similarity to Exodus (besides the compilation type of album around a current theme) is the outstanding artwork on the cover and in the pages of the liner notes. Jimmy Abegg did the Exodus artwork and Kim Thomas did the cover art and textures on "City on a Hill" This project also includes photos by Kristin Barlowe and others.When I listened to the beginning of this CD in the Christian bookstore, I was only about 30 seconds into the first track "God of Wonders" when I decided to buy the album. The prelude to the first track features Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer) and she does an incredible job of leading you into this song. This song is already getting airplay on Christian radio.The second song, "The Stone" was written by Jonathan Noel, Margaret Becker's keyboardist and Christian artist in his own right. These simple, repeating lyrics are POWERFUL - "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone," (2 Peter 2:7b. This song can also be found on Jonathan Noel's own indie album (with Margaret Becker singing background vocals!). This album can be purchased only on Jonathan Noel's website. If you like the version of "The Stone" on "City on a Hill", you'll love the other version as well!FFH has two songs on this album and fans of this relatively new group will definitely want to get this CD if only for those two songs - but will find themselves loving the whole album.Without going through each song in detail, I just want to say that all the songs are just great and together, the 13 tracks weave a beautiful tapestry of what it means to be a community, a body of believers shining the light of Jesus Christ our Lord, from A City on a Hill, into a darkened world.(Mat 5:14 NIV) "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.""