Music Review: Catalyst Music Project
Posted March 23, 2010
By ChristianManifesto,
GENRE: MODERN WORSHIP
LABEL: INO RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: MARCH 9, 2010
RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5
What do you get when you take 300 worship leaders and challenge them to write and submit a bevy of songs meant for corporate worship? What do you get when you take those same songs and have a bunch of up-and-coming worship artists like Phil Wickham, Laura Story, and Heather Williams (among others) introduce them to the world? You end up with something akin to the Catalyst Music Project, a fantastic testament to the fact that God is not finished talking with, through, and interacting with His people.
“Love Is The Answer” starts things out on the project and right away, the listener/worship is sent careening into an exuberant experience of praise. The lyrics on this one, to some, might appear kind of cheesy and trite, because—really, they are.
However, Phil Wickham comes to the rescue with “One Who Overcomes.” What an awesome piece of praise. A mid-tempo, huge sounding ballad, Wickham belts out in his signature vocal styling, “We sing to the One Who overcomes/To the One Who saves us from our sin/And heals what’s broken/Sing to the One Who rescues all/We will trust our lives so perfectly completed….”
Next up, Laura Story enters the scene, singing the song “What A Savior.” Her soothing vocals evoke a sense of awe and wonder at what Christ accomplished for us in His gracious death on our behalf. Following that same theme are Fee’s “Beauty of the Cross” and Tim Timmon’s’ very Jars of Clay-esque “A Thousand Amens (Doxology).” Actually, Timmons sounds quite a bit like the aforementioned band’s lead singer, Dan Haseltine.
Stephen Cole delivers one of the more artistic, performance pieces on the album in the form of “Hallelujah (All I Need),” another song with a parenthetical title.
“Because of Your Love” feels more like a throwback to the over-40 contemporary worship services that were so popular in the late 90’s—muscially anyhow. Miriam Ah Kuoi’s delivery, though, comes with all the power pop gusto of a BarlowGirl or Superchick song. Not sure how well that’ll translate in a modern worship service today, but it beat out over 700 other contenders to make the album cut.
If I were to offer one weakness of the overall project, is the severe lack of contemplative worship pieces. With the exception of the final two songs, “God Of All” and “Won’t You Be My Love,” the album is almost entirely praise. While I certainly have nothing against praise, the celebratory nature of the bulk of the album can begin to mesh together, losing some of the inherent beauty in the process. I suppose “catalyst” may be synonymous with “boisterous praise” to some, I feel like very little offered here takes the corporate worship setting to a place of reflecting on the weight and magnificence of God’s glory.
I do wonder how many local church congregations will be able to duplicate and adapt these songs to their worship gatherings, though. Very few worship leaders can hold a note like Phil Wickham and many, many church “bands” are made up of a hodge-podge of volunteers who lack the talent displayed here.
All things considered, Catalyst Music Project is one of the best worship compilations to come along in quite some time. The lyricism is incredible, the music crisp and tight, and the listener/worshipper is offered new expressions of praise to our Creator. Good stuff.
Review copy provided courtesy of INO Records
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Manifesto. Click here to visit TheChristianManifesto.com today! View All Music And Book Reviews By ChristianManifesto | View ChristianManifesto's Profile
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