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Greg’s Top 3
 Deluge from Bethany Live – Deluge 5 out of 5
Deluge captures the sound of passionate worship from the youth of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The new album "Deluge", was recorded live with Bethany’s Deluge band and 7000 worshipers at the annual “Upside Down” youth convention. From first listening to this CD, I was blown away by the talent of the musicians, the strength of the lyrics, and the power of the anointing that is in this group. I must be honest in that I didn’t know much about the band before this CD came out and now I can’t get enough.
The band shows its diversity with its heavy-metal style beat in “Crazy” to the more soft and moving flow of “Whisper His Name.” The songs prove to be more than simple “four-chord wonders” yet I believe they are simple enough for any worship team to adopt to their own playlists. To sum it up, Deluge Band proves to be one of the most talented and anointed bands seen in a long time! This is by far the top worship album of the year
- God of This City – Passion 4 out of 5
Passion never fails to produce a powerful live album of well-known artists and worship leaders and this album is proof of that. Dominated again by the popular Chris Tomlin, the David Crowder Band, Matt Redman, and Charlie Hall, there are also some new faces that we will undoubtedly see much of in the future.
I felt though that some songs were a bit repetitive and sounded eerily familiar to past songs but was still impressed with the powerful words of “God of This City” and David Crowder singing the beautiful hymn “O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” Another hit for Passion, but sometimes I wonder if they are pushing this just a bit too far?
- All of the Above– Hillsong United 4 out of 5
Here is the latest from the youth church in Australia. To put it simply, it was yet another excellent album. The lyrics are powerful yet simple, and one can feel the presence of God just listening to the CD.
However, I also felt that there were too many dry spots in the album. Songs such as “Hosanna”, “Lead me to the Cross”, and “Break Free” were hits but it didn’t make up for some flops elsewhere in the CD. Two of the above-mentioned tracks were led by United vocalist Brooke Fraser who is someone rising fast in the ranks at Hillsong.
More Than Life – Hillsong United 4 out of 5
Every month I’ll choose an album that has been out for awhile but I that I believe is worth mentioning again. This time it’s United’s album from 2004. After becoming the next big “thing” in Christian music around the world with their album from 2001, “King of Majesty”, “More Than Life” was a much-anticipated CD. With powerful songs like “One Way” and “Where the Love Lasts Forever”, this CD became the album to have for all worship leaders across the globe. The band also showed its dexterity in bringing artist Tim Hughes (Here I am to Worship) to lead “Consuming Fire” and also by putting some hip hop style with “Soldier”. This was by far one of the best albums by Hillsong United.
Top Pick for Contemporary Christian Music
The Bird and the Bee Sides – Relient K 4 out of 5
The latest by the very popular band with both the Christian and the secular community, “The Bird and the Bee Sides” is a 26-track long album that may seem quite daunting when you first play it. But the band’s frontrunner Matthew Theissen has amazing talent in songwriting and it comes out yet again through every song on the album. From "Beaming" which is light and breezy, to "The Last and the Lost" which is more heavy and guitar-driven. This album is very much like it’s last two albums “Four Score and Seven Years Ago” and “MMHMM,” which take a much more serious and melodramatic look on life. Compare this to “Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right, But Three Do” and “Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek” where they sing about mood rings, cell phones, and fictional superheroes. The band truly shows its talent with this album, but is it their best yet? Not really.
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