23rd May, 2008

JUSTIN MICHAEL

Album: God Of This City

Artist: Passion

Year: 2008
Label: Sixstepsrecords
Web: www.268generation.com
 
In A Word: Genre-leading

"Always a great set of songs and the type of live recording that really does feel live."

OK, hands up if you love the Passion movement?  Haven’t heard of 'em? Bet you have. Try this; hands up if you’ve seen any messages on DVD lately from a guy named Louie Giglio? Hands up if you’ve sung How Great Is Our God with the hymn of How Great Thou Art attached? Now hands up if you’re au fait with names like Tomlin, Crowder, Redman and Hall. Chances are, you’ve heard of the Passion movement and just don’t know it yet.
 
Well, each year, this university-based outreach movement in the US pulls together a conference, makes a pretty amazing recording and let’s us listen in once it’s all put together. God Of This City is this year's effort (Oh, and PS, it’s going on tour and will arrive in Sydney live later this year). These songs were recorded at events in Atlanta, Boston and Chicago and significantly, the title track was a collaborative effort credited to ‘Bluetree’.  It is written about the city of Belfast and the dedication on the disc goes on to say, ‘[the song] was birthed as a prayer of hope over one of the darkest cities in the world...for that city and yours, we hope these songs become a beacon”.  The lyric states, ‘You’re the God of this city/You’re the God of these people...” and the chorus proclaims, “Greater things have yet to come/and greater things are still to be done in this city”.
 
Other stand-out tracks include the ever-singable Tomlin tracks such as Let God Arise, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) and Sing, Sing, Sing, along with Matt Redman’s Shine and David Crowder’s pop take on the Wesley lyric, O, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing. The highlight for this Australasian listener, however, was the wonderful rendition of Brooke Fraser’s track Hosanna. Christy Nockels sings it brilliantly and it’s great to see that once again a great Kiwi (adopted Aussie) is having an impact on the other side of the world.
 
Always a great set of songs and the type of live recording that really does feel live.