Delirious?

And with the advent of 2009, Christian music loses one of its rare prizes: Delirious?, the “U2 for you too!”-bent worship band, responsible for “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever,” “History Maker,” “Deeper,” and a cavalcade of other, lesser hits—now playing at a worship service near you. Announcing their retirement just after the release of Kingdom of Comfort, which in hindsight met with a shrug of slight indifference, albeit nothing as hostile as the response to Audio Lessonover? (or Touch, as it’s known here in the US with a slightly different track listing), the band gives us a send-off in semi-glorious fashion with this, their final concert package.

My Soul Sings is more than a bit redundant. After all, the band’s previous CD/DVD combo, Now is the Time: Live at Willow Creek, covered all the necessary highlights of the group’s songbook, threw in a couple of the latest tracks for good measure, offered a nice keepsake for live fans…simply put, it was the final word on what to expect from Delirious?. Even so, it’s nice to see a goodbye present, a testament to the long-running affection between these musicians and their audience. What falls short is the tracklisting. Let me explain.

Some bands need a live album to “open up” their sound a bit. Delirious? have never scrimped on that front. But the song choice here feels…well, unnecessary. It’s nice to see newly released tracks like “Love Will Find a Way” and “Stare the Monster Down” make an appearance, but am I the only one sick of live versions of “History Maker” and “Deeper”? Why is it that we revisit the same career points time and again? Moreover, why re-hash “Rain Down” as a concert opener or “Majesty” as the token ballad? It’s overkill in the most tired, belabored sense.

The energy among the crowd is fabulous, and the DVD itself is well-shot, if a bit overambitious in its attempt to paint the band as the successors to U2’s throne—an advertising scheme that, as we can all see, has been rendered moot by Delirious?’s retirement and U2’s continued aspirations of glory. Where Martin Smith and crew simply adapted those stadium rock cliches and stapled them to worship lyrics, the band they mirror most closely is adding nuance and character to a career full of variety and experimentation. It diminishes the Delirious? image considerably, but there’s a lot here to be gleaned for younger fans unfamiliar with previous live projects, fans of live music productions, or simply completists who want the whole discography.

While I’m not necessarily recommending this project, you could definitely make a worse investment. I don’t approve of the appearance of tried and true songs that have most certainly become overplayed, and I would have appreciated it if the band had taken this opportunity to flesh out songs not typically played live, or at the very least, songs that haven’t been recorded in a live setting. Either way, chances are you’ve already decided what you think about this and the rest of the band’s work.

Tagged as: Delirious?, My Soul Sings

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