Hillsong Live

Faith + Hope + Love is Hillsong’s 19th live album to be released worldwide. And this thirteen-song gem continues to cement Hillsong’s place in the modern worship moment. The album is live, which gives every track an edge of rawness and slight imperfection. The songs move from one to another with no break, creating a single, cohesive experience rather than thirteen individual pieces. And it’s lovely. I wish I could have been there in that moment. It’s that good.

The album begins with “The First and the Last,” a Joel Houston and Ruben Morgan composition (with Houston taking over vocals). It’s a great start for the album, full of energy and excitement. But the next song, “For Your Name” is where the album truly begins to take off. Jad Gillies takes the microphone, and sings of the fresh hope presented to us in God.

“Glow” takes a hard look at life in difficulty, and does it eloquently. It’s refreshing to see a song outside the “God’s-here-so-everything’s-great” box that modern worship can occasionally fall into. Presenting situations where someone is “Lost and stranded / Empty handed/ Broken down and all alone,” leader David Ware presents a place of worship in the midst of life struggles, singing “Just a glimmer of Your glory/ And the earth falls to it’s knees/ You level the mountains/ With a whisper/ And you calm the raging sea.” This is a song that easily acknowledges those raging seas, while quietly reminding us there’s Someone out there bigger than anything life can throw our way.

Brooke (formerly Fraser) Ligertwood appears on “I Will Exalt You,” a quieter, more reflective song on the album. She also takes the stage on “His Glory Appears.” With the softer sides of both of these songs, her soaring vocals are definitely missed. But she’s still a welcome addition to the album. As the album heads towards it’s close, “You Hold Me Now” begins with a lovely guitar, strings and drums opening for one of the best songs of the album. The melody here is unexpected and fresh, and the tag “You hold me now/ You hold me now” is infused with such passion that you can’t help but be caught up in it.

The album’s weakest song is “It’s Your Love.” It’s a fine song, but with a run-time of over eight and a half minutes, it drags on far too long. It’s one thing to be at a show where a song runs that long, but on a live album it tends to get repetitive very quickly. There could also be some discussion around the lyrics, particularly in “No Reason to Hide.” The use of biblical metaphors such as “It’s time we took all the lamp shades off” might make this album a little less accessible for a non-churchgoing audience. Yes, these songs are written specifically for a worship audience, but if they obscure the message for others, what good will that do?

Honestly, the best way to listen to this album is straight through, with the volume up high. There aren’t any stand-alone tracks along the lines of previous Hillsong chart-toppers like “Hosanna,” “Desert Song” or even “Mighty to Save.” But the album as a whole comes together beautifully, and should be listened to as such. There may one day come a point, eventually, where a Hillsong album will be less than stellar. This is not it. Once again, with sweeping melodies and full bands led by some of today’s most talented worship leaders, Hillsong has created an amazing album.

Tagged as: Faith+Hope+Love, Hillsong Live

↓ One comment

#1 Greg Michael cabajaga on August 15th, 2009 at 1:20 am

i love the hillsong music….so great music………….

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