The CD's lead-off hymn is a good omen. Chris Tomlin starts things off with the hymn O Worship The King. Tomlin did a good job. The music is upbeat and excites you to hear what else is coming on this CD. It makes you want to sing along.
David Crowder Band comes up next with a modern version of a hymn everone knows, the Doxology. While the music is enjoyable and you can't really screw up the Doxology, it's kind of hard to believe that it got stretched for nearly four minutes (3:57). A one verse song should not be carried out that long ever.
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee is the next hymn we come across. Many people will recognize the music of this hymn even if they do not know the words (For those wondering, the music is Hymn To Joy from the 9th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven). Charlie Hall doesn't have to do much with this hymn, but keeping it upbeat was definitely a good thing.
Next up is Christy Nockels leading us in the singing of the hymn Praise To The Lord, The Almighty. This is a hymn that churchgoers may or may not know, depending on whether their church plays many hymns or not. It's a decent version of this song, but it's nothing to get too excited about.
So now we come to Father Let Me Dedicate, brought to us by Matt Redman. Many people will probably recognize the chorus of this hymn, as it is used in a modern worship song entitled Be Glorified. It is certainly interesting where Be Glorified was spawned from. However, one complaint I have always had with Matt Redman on the Passion CDs is that he always drags a song on much longer than it needs to be sung, and this is again the case with this song.
Charlie Hall returns for a second time on this disc with another hymn that nearly any churchgoer will know, How Great Thou Art. This is a faster version and more rock style than most people will have heard this song from, but it definitely works well. One of the better hymns on the disc.
Raise Up The Crown (All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name) is up next on this CD, and Chris Tomlin provides us with the lead vocals. This is an enjoyable song that many people may not know. Tomlin did a good job on this one.
This next hymn will be recognized by any David Crowder Band fan, as it is on their most recent LP, Illuminate. All Creatures Of Our God And King is great on the Illuminate CD, and the live version on this CD does not disappoint either. A great hymn and a great job done on it.
Back with us again is Charlie Hall, this time offering us the hymn The Solid Rock (On Christ The Solid Rock). The drum beat on this song is awesome, which brings you into the song. It's also a good hymn that people may not have known before this disc.
Phos Hilaron (The Gladdening Light) is...interesting, to say the least. While I am sure that this...chant, for lack of a better word...was an amazing experience in person at the concert, it really doesn't have a place on this CD. It just sounds very out of place.
Chris Tomlin makes up for this by bringing us Joyous Light (The Gladdening Light Revised). With actual singing, it obviously helps. And this really is a good hymn. It's just that the CD could've stuck with this version without need to add the first version on this CD as well.
Matt Redman has luckily not made the same mistake twice. He does not drag Here Is Love on and on and on like he did with Father Let Me Dedicate. That being said, Here Is Love is kind of reminiscent of Shout To The North...it has that same kind of "Raise your glass!" beat to it. It's a decent rendition, though nothing spectacular here.
Fairest Lord Jesus proves that Christy Nockels deserves to be on the Passion tour leading worship with the boys. People will probably recognize the music, even if they don't know the hymn. And Nockels makes this an enjoyable song.
Last up on the CD is David Crowder Band bringing us Take My Life (And Let It Be). The first two verses of this song are relatively quiet and seem to stick pretty closely to the original version, which isn't necesarily a bad thing. But toward the end, the electric violins and guitars hit and make this song even better. Another great job by David Crowder Band.
Summary: The Passion artists stepped out on a limb and took a chance with this one. Aside from a few minor details and one or two songs that are just average, this was definitely a chance worth taking. Overall, a great job was done on this CD.