Shane & Shane's "Glory In The Highest": A Review
Posted November 25, 2008
By ChristianManifesto,
by C.E. Moore
Shane & Shane have set the bar for acoustic-driven worship music. The partnership of Shane Barnard and Shane Everett has produced such powerful and memorable efforts as “Psalms,” “Clean,” and more recently “Pages.” Now, this dynamic duo bring their acoustic style to the Christmas season with the release of their first holiday album “Glory In The Highest (A Christmas Record).”
Ranging from classics to modern staples to original pieces, Shane & Shane deliver up yet another great album. My only complaint is that, at 10 tracks long, the album feels much too short for such a wonderful display of talent.
“O Holy Night” starts things off and Barnard and Everett are as fresh as ever, crooning the honored lyrics over their dual acoustic guitars. “O Come O Come Emmanuel” has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs. A Latin hymn from the early 1700’s, this particular piece is one that has been embraced by many Christian artists as of late (during the holiday season) and Shane & Shane have likely delivered up one of the best renditions of it I have heard of it in a long, long time. “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” is light, cheerful, and bouncy (as it should be), yet infused with Shane & Shane’s signature style.
“Born To Die,” “Holiday,” and “Glory In The Highest” are all original pieces by the singer-songwriter. While the first two are decent, title track “Glory In The Highest” is the best song of the three—and quite easily the best track on the entire album. As the two have found their footing in the modern worship genre, they have been able to tap into that and craft a new holiday worship piece that the church would do well to adopt as its own. The lyrics are as simple as those espoused in the book of Revelation, yet they are deep and powerful and will draw the listener/singer to the foot of a horse trough that holds the baby Messiah, come to die for our sins. What Shane & Shane have done here is remind us that though this child has no place to lay his head, all glory is due his name as he is the Creator of the cosmos. “O Come Let Us Adore Him” rightly follows and closes out the album.
“Glory In The Highest” is one of the few Christmas albums that is also a powerful piece of worship. If you’re skeptical about Christmas albums, Shane & Shane should help ally any lingering doubts or fears.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Manifesto. Click here to visit TheChristianManifesto.com today!
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