Album Review: "Beautiful News"

We're living in a veritable golden age of worship music. Witness the personal intensity (and bass-drum-obsession) of David Crowder's music; Chris Tomlin’s knack for writing anthemic power ballads; Darlene Zschech and her “these are the sounds we‘ll hear in heaven” choir; or Martin Smith and the U2-righteous sound of Delirious?

But in my mind, one modern song writer stands above all others. This writer mixes profound truth from Biblical passages with an inventive, non "G-C-D" chord structure, all coming from the depths of his personal experience with God. His roster of songs could be safely called "impressive": The Wonderful Cross, Better is One Day, Blessed Be Your Name, Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble, Facedown, The Fathers Song, For the Cross, Heart of Worship, Holy Moment, Let Everything That Has Breath, Let My Words Be Few, Let Your Glory Fall, Making Melody, Once Again, Thank You For the Blood, Undignified, You Must Increase.

By now you either know who I'm talking about, or you've never heard a worship song in your life. When I heard that Matt Redman had a new CD arriving December 26th, my heart was happy. So happy, in fact, that by Dec 27th I had bought four (4) copies of Beautiful News: one for personal enjoyment, and three for belated Christmas presents to family members of various distinction. All this, and I'd only heard one song (You Never Let Go, from the Passion CD "Everything Glorious") on the album.

Upon hearing the full roster of songs, my pre-release expectations did not go unfulfilled. There is no single stand-out track; no song with the power of "Blessed Be Your Name", for instance (IMO, the greatest worship song ever written). What Beautiful News does offer is track after track of challenging lyrics bundled in diverse musical forms. Some of the better tracks include:

• #2 You Never Let Go: The lyrics remind me of "Blessed Be Your Name", from God's perspective. It speaks of walking through difficult times, but without fear; "for if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear". Where Blessed Be was a heart-declaration in obedient praise to God, You Never Let Go shows God's promise of protection and provision "through the calm and through the storm". Maybe the most singable song on the album too.
• #4 Take It To The Streets: My favorite guitar-riff song; the verses flat-out rock in a direction MR usually doesn't go, likely due to the influence of co-writer Martin Smith of Delirious? The two verses are almost identical, but the sublte change in orientation adds depth of meaning. The first verse claims that "I am not a stranger to mercy, grace, kindness" and declares God's redemptive power. After a chorus of exclaiming "I'm gonna take it to the streets", the second verse states that "I must tell the world of his mercy, grace, kindness". Almost the same lyrics, but what a difference. Once we recognize God's truth in our lives, and it sinks into the essence of our hearts, it brings such a joy and life change that we must tell the world, so they can experience it as well.
• #6 A Greater Song: Similar in theology to "The Heart of Worship", this song compares the wonder of God's love and mercy with our inability to produce anything to worthy to describe the same. Ending with a second chorus of "Hallelujah, we want to lift you higher", a crescendo-worthy repetitive line if I've ever seen one.
• #8 Thank You For Healing Me: I identify with the verses in this song, with a "disease eating me up on the inside". Anyone who is honest in their struggle with sin has felt a powerlessness at times that leads to a desparate need for Jesus. The theme is the same as saving or rescuing, but lyrically couched in healing terms. "On the outside I may waste away, but on the inside I'll be more alive every day" is a statement of hope for everyone. An especially poignant song when you read the story that inspired it on Matt's site.

Really, I listen to the entire CD and consistently find truth and hope in almost every track. While the quality of the music is high and the melody's original, the real power comes, as always, from the lyrical depth. These are not simple, feel-good singalongs that seem trite. Matt's songs challenge and give hope in fresh ways that are all too rarely seen.

Go buy four copies.

And once you do, please read the stories behind each song on Matt Redman's site. This makes each song a lot more meaningful.