Chris Tomlin and company have a new CD hitting the shelves around September this fall and I don’t know if I’m excited or bored. WOAH man simmer down now, where’s the love!?!
Yes I know that Chris Tomlin is the poster boy for many worship leaders out there and apparently he’s tapped the phone lines of angels in heaven and is capable for crafting singable worship songs that need no introduction. I’ve also been listening to him since 1997ish and his every year CD release has me full to the brim, despite my love for Daniel Carson’s yummy Edge style guitar paying. I will say, See The Morning was a much needed follow-up to Arriving for me and I’m hoping, HOPING new release, Hello Love can top it as well.
Regardless, Jesus, Messiah was debuted on …klove…yesterday morning and again, not sure if I’m excited or bored.
- YES - slow build to incredible crescendo then quiet drop off to embrace the meaning of the lyrics
- YES - singable melody that you can catch on to the 1st time you hear it
- YES - well produced and thick sounding
- YES - piano + guitar + strings
- YES - God focused lyrics
The song, as indicated by it’s title, is all about who Jesus is. Chorus is something like:
Jesus, Messiah, name above all names
Blessed redeemer, Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners, the ransom from Heaven
Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all
The downer is the prechorus is:
Love so amazing, love so amazing
I swear if I hear any combination of the words love + amazing = nausea
The biggest unexpected downer in the mix is the 80s cheese backup vocals in the bridge and last chorus. I’m tossing it up to “trying new things” because this is quite unexpected from him.
Again, I’m feeling that Tomlin’s progression as a musician is an overall great thing but something less as a voice of the collegiate culture and more of the mainstream modern church. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I’m sure people are going to LOVE this song (and new CD) and I may even be among those people! But as my progression moves from church worship leader to “That Youth Guy” my musical taste is drifting farther and farther from Mr. Tomlin 
Hmmm… interesting. I haven’t been able to get a listen yet. Looking forward to it.
it is really quite interesting. as a matter of fact, the only reason i bought his last cd is because it was bundled with the not to us album (i lost my first copy).
for p&w music, eventually this will happen since everything is based from the truths of the Word. unless, he starts writing a more contemporary/secular type songs that still talks about christian life experiences. what really bothers me is the style of arrangements/harmony/melody. they are all the same. i actually liked one of his single from the Narnia album (You’re The One). It really sounds fresh.
we have to wait what else is in the album before we can really pass judgment though.
Right on Rhoy, I was a fan of the tune off the Narnia CD as well. I’m not sure what you’re implying will eventually happen? The formulaic rhythm trap that the successful artist falls into once he gains popularity
i was referring to the lyrics being almost the same for every song. and yeah the “formulaic rhythm trap”
I’m trying to be tactful but I feel like Tomlin’s slow musical growth is starting to become evident, especially as other bands and artist (like Hillsong United) push the boundaries and evolve. As the “poster boy” for contemporary (there’s no way he’s “modern” anymore) worship, I think he has a responsibility to push the craft forward because he’s got the cache to do it. There’s a reason why we’re not excited about the new Passion CD anymore - we’ve heard it all before! I saw Radiohead in concert last Monday night and, as a songwriter myself, I found myself thinking “Are we just being lazy as worship song writers?”. RH did such incredible things musically that I started feeling ashamed of our reluctance to try and do extraordinary things with worship music. Enough rambling - how about some INNOVATION?
one thing that i would disagree with the comment is regarding Hillsong United evolving. the best album they ever had was their 1st and (arguably) their 2nd but everything that came after sounds exactly the same. same arrangements, same line of lyrics, same musical style. i was actually excited to hear Hillsong’s last Christmas album coz they really mixed it up and showcased their God-given musical talents.
btw, you can’t compare radiohead with praise/worship song writers. i listen to different christian artists and they sound much better than radiohead. so really, this is apples to oranges.
Ya’ll are totally hijacking my next post I’m working on but I suppose I’ll jump in this: Rhoy I’ve got to agree with blogsology. Most Praise and Worship is lazy. As I cited earlier, if I hear amazing + love together one more time I’m going to puke. It’s like when “awesome” was used to describe everything from hamburgers to God. Seriously, is there no other word to describe God’s love than “amazing?” Tomlin has settled into a Dove winning formula
I suppose somebody’s gotta do it! Hahaha.
As far as United, I’ll give you United We Stand as basically a super charged upgrade but same stuff as Look to You but dude…ALL OF THE ABOVE! Come on! There are tracks on there that you could drop into secular radio and not know the difference! I was totally stoked by that! And talk about breaking the lyrical monotony!
That’s my .02.
I heard “Jesus Messiah” on K-Love and LOVED IT! Another beautiful worship song by Chris Tomlin & band. I trust this song will sung in worship services across the country and beyond. It is a beautiful song of love to our precious Saviour Christ Jesus! Can’t wait for it to be released.
Yeah Julie, no doubt about it, this song will catch on and be sung quite easily like most Tomlin tunes. It’s just the same is all
I accidentally picked a couple Tomlin tunes one time for a worship service and at practice felt like I was singing the same song over and over and over again. The same great song 
but the same song. Like a great deep rut 
Woah…overuse of smileys
Okay guys, if you are tired of Chris Tomlin don’t listen to him. There are some of us who still enjoy his music. The thing with his music is it doesn’t have to have amazing lyrics and outstanding melodies. He just writes songs that anyone can sing along to to worship God. It’s about God and so what if he decides to use “amazing” instead of some new, trendy word. When you’re worshiping God it doesn’t really matter.
GJ, I’m sorry, I tend to forget that there are people who aren’t in the process of leading worship who come across this blog and participate. I don’t keep that in mind enough. I bet this seems a bit arrogant and unhealthy to “critique” worship. It’s not my intention. Nor is it my intention to be trendy.
I feel though, that its not about trendy words or phrases but again it’s like I scold my students about all the time. “Awesome” is used to describe the weather, their pizza, their newest video game, the footprints a bird makes in the mud, a fart, salvation, forgiveness, music, the Trinity, twitter, God’s miracles…see they can’t all be “awesome!” We’re just too lazy to come up with categorical meanings for what we’re seeing. It’s the same thing for those who use cuss words for adjectives. The misuse of the word offends me more than the offensive language!
God’s love truly is AMAZING! But when we say that in every single song over and over again it begins to loose it’s “amazingness” (for me at least) and as a worship leader when every song uses a G-D-Em-C formation and uses the word “amazing love” in it then we’re singing the same song over and over and over again just with a new title.
I think we have a duty to challenge ourselves with this art that God has given us through music. Tomlin is a gifted and talented leader of worship. I encourage him to stretch his lyrical giftedness however for his songs. We have an incredible and vast language, let’s use it!