Paul Baloche

Paul Baloche has served as the Worship Pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas for 20 years. Many of his compositions are familiar praise and worship songs in church gatherings worldwide. Though his name is not very recognizable, his impact on the genre is perhaps just as profound as the likes of Michael W. Smith or Chris Tomlin. His songs include familiar titles such as “Open The Eyes Of My Heart,” “Above All,” “Praise Adonai,” “Offering,” and “My Reward.” This songwriter, musician, and worship leader has helped define the sound that has come to represent the mainstream of worship music in recent years.

His new release, Glorious, maintains the consistency of that sound, along with lyrics that effectively generate the language of praise that is familiar to many. In an interview with the 700 Club, Baloche describes the lyrics from his latest album as being inspired by the New Testament, and as an expression of the theology found there. “A lot of songs that we sing form our theology… I tried to be more intentional about New Testament themes and concepts so when people are singing them they are getting the word of God, and the heart of God.”

The music is as equally solid as the lyrics. Each song is well written and designed to be easily sung by the average person. Nothing earth shattering or deviant here. In fact, in some cases it’s easy to get the impression that one has heard some of these songs before, even while listening for the fist time. As a musician myself, this can become rather frustrating and is a common experience when listening to “new” praise and worship music. However, it helps to acknowledge that these are compositions written for the masses to aid them in corporate worship. Their main purpose is not to be innovative or musically challenging. Still, many long for more in the industry who would be willing to step out with fresh sounds and lyrics that take praise and worship music to new levels.

Glorious also tends to suffer a bit from an artificial, canned-like praise experience. The background congregational singing, applause, and utterances of praise seem orchestrated and come across as too perfect to capture the feel of a dynamic worship environment. Perhaps “overproduction” is the key word here. Overall this is a well produced album that sounds great, but there are moments when it fails to come across as an authentic and real worship experience.

One of the strongest songs is the title track. Co-written with Brenton Brown, it features some of the richest lyrical content, as well as a strong musical theme that effectively builds with passion and energy. Continuing in the vain of that energy is the following track, “You Have Saved Us,” which features more upbeat and tastefully delivered guitar work. Other stand out tracks include “To The Cross,” an intensely worshipful expression of gratefulness for Christ’s sacrifice. “Today Is The Day,” is a fresh take on an old standby worship song and theme. “Shaken” is the one cut that seemed to grip this reviewer the most, a song that gets to the heart of what’s truly important in this life. Another is “Almighty,” which delivered some lower register guitar work in the verses that makes for a unique feel, as well as more of that good energy in the chorus.

In spite of the few drawbacks mentioned in this review, this is still an excellent contribution overall. There are a lot of great songs here that will resonate with many who are seeking expressions of their affection toward the Creator.

Tagged as: Glorious, Paul Baloche

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