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In the first post of this series I reviewed the CD disc included with this package. In this post I’ll be reviewing the DVD disc. The live worship are just songs from other live worship gatherings from some of the more popular worship artists/leaders. But the disc also has some iWorship songs and some bonus music videos to check out.

Live Worship:

1. Mighty To Save (Hillsong): Good stuff. I love the dynamics in this version. And towards the end, when the band drops out and it’s basically just the drums, choir, and congregation singing “Shine Your Light and…” it’s just simply beautiful.
2. Revelation Song (Gateway Worship): Beautiful. This arrangement is awesome. The key changes are stunning. Kari Jobe rocks it. I saw them do this one live at the National Worship Leader Conference and it wasn’t quite as polished as this one. Just an absolutely marvelous worship song.
3. Hosanna (Hillsong United): I love this song. It was kinda weird seeing the vocalists sing. I’ve heard them on recordings for a while, but have yet to really watch a dvd recording. Though the young people are definitely engaging in worship, the feel of thise video seems more like a rock concert (which I love by the way) than a churchy worship gathering.
4. Here in Your Presence (New Life Worship): I wan’t familiar with this song before watching this dvd. I love just about any song in compound meter though (triple). There’s just something right about multiples of three in music. I really like Ross Parsley. Not so much for his singing, but he’s a great leadership teacher. Don’t know if I’d ever use this song corporately (regularly) but it is one that some churches who do a more conventional half-hour or longer worship set might enjoy.
5. Friend of God (Israel & New Breed): This is one of those songs that you love and hate at the same time. It has such a wonderful message, but it seems like this one is a little over played. Just about every song that comes from Israel is gold, this one is no exception. I like the live vibe of this one, Israel does a lot more ad lib on the verses. Pretty sweet.

iWorship Song Movies:

1. I Am Free
2. Love The Lord
3. Come Thou Fount Come Thou King
4. Before the Throne of God
5. Your Name

We’re more likely to use the slow songs in this iWorship Song Movie format. Since we have a full band, we dont use the iWorship videos during our worship sets, but we do use them occasionally at the end of services during our commitment/challenge times.

Bonus Music Videos:

1. You Reign (Mercy Me): I’m not a huge MM fan, even though these guys crank out some great stuff. Pretty cool live shots.
2. Refuse to Be Denied (Desperation Band): This one opens up kind of oddly with a noisy, buys room and then fades into the intro of this song. It’s set up in a studio of some sort and mixes in some live shots as well. Looks really cool. Good song.

Extra Features:

1. iWorship Flexx: indivdual movie clips for individual sections of a song. This is basically a visual upgrade to your conventional slide-based presentation. Instead of making still slides with motion bgs you just add in the movie. Looks like a pretty good tool for churches who don’t have the resources to create their own.
2. iHeart Revolution Video: promo video.
3. Paul Baloche DVD Guitar Songbook 2: Sample from the dvd, I’m guessing. Paul Baloche with his acoustic guitar talking about the song Rising. Showing chord formations.

Overall, this is a great resource. The extra features are definitely mini-ads for more Integrity products, but I don’t mind that so much when the feature content is so rich.

My pastor handed me this yesterday, and I’ve been listening and watching all morning. I’m not sure if it’s just a sampler cd/dvd or a regular in the iworship series, but it’s jam-packed with goodies.

Today I’ll be reviewing the cd disc. Most of the songs are very familiar or at the very least by very familiar artists.

1. Today is the Day (Lincoln Brewster): This tune is not a new one for me. We’ve been using it here in our worship experiences for several months. It’s a catchy, pop-rock guitar driven tune that is very accessible for congregational singing. This rings especially true for the choruses.
2. I Will Boast (Phillips, Craig & Dean): Not one of my favorites. Great lyrics. I’ve never been a great fan of the slightly country meets grown up boy band sound of PCD, but this song has the potential to be a fun, upbeat congregational song in whatever style you sing it.
3. Glorious One (Steve Fee): I got to “see” the Fee Band at catalyst this year. I really enjoyed worshiping with them. This song has a very “Passion” feel that merges an acoustic driven sound with an intense retro rock worship sound. I think this tune is one you could easily adapt for congregational singing.
4. In Wonder (Newsboys): My whole “sacred” music experience has been influenced by Newsboys. From the time I just started playing and singing to this day, there’s always been a great Newsboys album or song. In typical NB fashion they bring together great lyrics with catchy hooks and that aussie accent! This may not necessarily be a song that I would choose to do congregationally, but it does have a very singable chorus.
5. So Great (Michael W. Smith featuring Israel Houghton & Christy Nockels): I’m not a huge fan of MWS’s voice, but there’s no doubt that he is an awesome writer and musician. This is a song that reminds me of some of the late 90s vineyard and Passion recordings. I think this song is definitely adaptable for congregational singing. What jumps out at me is the diversity in the featured vocalists. If you have skilled lead vocalists to feature, this would be a great song to do it on.
6. Hosanna (Hillsong United): From the very first beat, this groove will catch you. Probably one of the most popular songs in the last few years, this version is definitely well-arranged. I love HU. The lead vocalists sings with passion and as the song builds you can’t help but sing along. What’s funny to me though, is the last “Hosanna in the highest” phrase of the chorus, seems to be ripped from an old chorus called Hosanna that I remember singing  in my younger church days. Very singable. Accessible for congregational singing.
7. God of this City (Bluetree): I hadn’t heard of this group before, so it was interesting to hear another arrangement of this popular song. The key you choose to arrange this in will determine if it’s singable by your congregation. This arrangement is a little to electronic for my taste, but the song is a great song to feature, especially if you’re doing a series or message on outward impact.
8. Your Grace is Enough (Matt Maher): Guitar driven modern rock worship sound. Reminds me a little of the Lincoln Brewster sound. Great lyrics. Chris Tomlin has an arrangement that is very similar. I prefer this version though. This song is an adaptable up tempo song and has a catchy chorus. Your congregation should love it.
9. Our God Saves (Paul Baloche): This is a live version of a very Baloche-sounding song. I love Paul Baloche. What an influential worshiper. I’ve listened to, sang, and worshiped with his music for years. A straight-forward message about God’s saving power. Medium tempo song. Should be easy to do congregationally.
10. Open Up The Sky (Deluge): Solid, medium tempo song. The lead vocalist has a unique and soulful sounding voice. Which is a plus for me, because I tend to get tired of the screaming high tenor worship leaders that are so popular nowadays. Personally, I probably wouldn’t include this song in a corporate setting, but some may. All in all, it’s a good song, simple and straightforward.
11. King (Tree63): Fast moving and catchy tune. I love the lyrics. Typically songs that sing about “future glory” tend to remind me of the majority of every southern gospel song ever written, but I think it’s a message that we need to share with our congregations. We need to be aware that our “home” is not here on earth in the temporary, but in a spiritual Kingdom that is eternal. Great song. After listening to this one, I’ve added this one to our music to learn for 09 list.
12. I Will Search (Israel & New Breed): I really love Israel’s stuff and so even though I might not use it corporately, this is a great song. It has a very catchy hook and the lyrics are solid. It’s typical Israel, in that it uses unorthodox instruments and chord moves that lean more towards a gospel sound. Great song.
13. Mighty to Save (Laura Story): I met Laura at the National Worship Leader Conference in the green room. She was so cool and ordinary (I mean that as a compliment). She’s a great writer, and a great performer as well. I like the almost folk, acoustic drive that this version has. Obviously, this song is one of those that has risen to widespread use in the last few years. It’s a staple in most worship team’s repertoire these days. Very singable.
14. How He Loves (John Mark McMillan): I had heard this song before listening to this disc, but I’m not sure where. I love the simplicity of the guitar driven arrangement. I would personally use this song for more of personal worship/devotional listening. Others might use it congregationally. Either way it’s a solid song that has an almost coffeehouse appeal to it.
15. Saviour King (Hillsong): This is a very Hillsong-sounding tune. Which is a good thing! I haven’t really connected with many of the newer HS recordings so I haven’t use many new HS tunes in worship sets. This song could be a good congregational song.
16. You Are Good (Gateway Worship): This like a few others on this compilation has a kind of “Passion” worship feel. Featuring Kari Jobe, the same vocalist who sang The Revelation Song on a previous recording, this song isn’t quite as moving to me personally as the Rev Song, but is a good song that would work as an end of set “intimate” song. Or possibly as an end of service “commitment” song. It’s got a simple melody on the chorus, and should be accessible to worship teams and the congregation.

Overall, this is a great collection of some of the most shared worship songs over the last few years. If I hadn’t heard many of these before, I would easily say that this Compilation cd would be a great resource for a worship leader looking for new, accessible material for congregational singing.

Next round of movie reviews.

Polar Express: Got this one for my wife. She’s a sucker for Christmas movies. Overall, it was just ok for me. It was kinda creepy at some points. Not scary, though, just creepy. I think it had a lot to do with the animation style. It was almost too real. The characters would have had more appeal to me if they were a little more cartoonish. That being said, some of the scenes were breathtaking. Very good computer generated landscapes. Also, I’m not huge on the Santa myth so whenever it comes to movies that push “believing” in Santa and the “spirit” of Christmas…I kind of zone out.

(2.5 out of 5)

The Clone Wars: I got this one for ME! I love all things Star Wars. I liked this one. I know a lot of people did not like the animation style, but I personally loved it. It kind of reminded me of the animated Batman cartoons from the 90s. Just a 3D version. Story wise, I wasn’t captivated. It was kind of neat to kind of fill in the gaps between the major Episodes, but other than that, I was almost surprised when the movie ended (no spoilers). It just didn’t seem to be very climatic. Overall I enjoyed this one though.

(3.5 out of 5)

The Cross & The Switchblade: Old school here. This is an evangelistic film at it’s finest. If there is such a thing. I know, I know it’s loaded with 70s cheese, but the soundtrack is so funky cool. If for no other reason, you’ve got to watch this one to see Pat Boone and Erik Estrada as young men, running around to 70s music. I really enjoyed this one. I had seen it as a very, very young child and I wanted to revisit it.

(3.5 out of 5)

That’s what’s for dinner tonight.

What’s your favorite cold winter’s night warm me up dish?