Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Indescribable Christmas at Glad Tidings PJ on 21 & 22 Dec

, I am excited to share this with you. Glad Tidings Petaling Jaya, will be celebrating Christmas in the most INDESCRIBABLE way.

The Christmas Service will move along the theme of "Indescribable : A Christmas Production". It's such an exciting theme, cos we are displaying God's absolute Greatness and Magnificence which is higlighted through the creation of earth and beyond it, heaven. And yet with such an Amazing God, he still loves all of us unconditionally.

That's the best part of the message that Christmas brings. - The Creator of heaven and earth came down in the form of a baby, to reach His own creation and to reconcile them back to Him.

The Indescribable production team brings you the experience of the vastness of the universe and all of His creation through the engaging of all your senses, this Christmas season.

Bring your family, friends and colleagues and make your way to GTPJ on 21 or 22 December!

See you there!










Indescribable Christmas at Glad Tidings Petaling Jaya








All of the heavens are displaying the magnificence and splendour of God. He is the creator of the entire universe, every known and unknown galaxy. He placed every star in the sky and knows them each by name. But yet the great Creator God became mere man; born of a virgin, grew and walked with us - an Indescribable act of Love!






When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars
which you have set in place. What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of
man that you care for him? Psalms 8:3-4







Join us this Christmas to peer into God's universe and creation

and discover the amazing magnitude of His greatness and grace.








Indescribable Christmas







Date : 21 & 22 December 2007 (Fri & Sat)

Time : 8.30pm

Venue : Glad Tidings Assembly of God Petaling Jaya

No 6 Jalan Bersatu 13/4

46200 Petaling Jaya

Inquiries : 603 7958 2777

http://www.gtpj.com/


















Map to Glad Tidings PJ


Map to Glad Tidings Petaling Jaya





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Monday, November 26, 2007

Free Christmas Carols with Chords from Praise Charts

I bring you news of Great Joy and Good Tidings.

Have any of you ever suffered with wrong chords when you play Christmas Carols. I mean how often do you play carols ... like mebbe once a year? And the worship team expects you to know Joy To The World, Silent Night, O Holy Night as if you played them for the last four weeks!! (been there?)

Well I am very pleased to say that Praise Charts have put together a collection of 33 wonderful Christmas Carols and arranged them with guitar chords which you can use for your church, cell or if you're planning on carolling this year!!

The file is called Christmas Carols for Acoustic Worship

The PDF File can be downloaded from Praise Chart's website : DOWNLOAD
(The file is only 650MB and in PDF format)

YAY!! Now you can play Silent Nite with no worries :)


The list of the Christmas Carols are :




Please visit Praise Chart : www.praisecharts.com

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Casting Crowns wins at 2007 American Music Awards

Multi-Platinum and GRAMMY Award winning artist Casting Crowns was named “Favorite Artist” at the “2007 American Music Awards” in the Contemporary Inspirational category as announced November 18 LIVE on ABC from the NOKIA Theatre L.A in downtown Los Angeles. Pictured above is the band, Casting Crowns, with Kirk Franklin and Miley Cyrus.

“This is an incredible honor! Wow, an American Music Award; this is voted on by our fans so it’s very special to us. We’re both humbled and honored to represent Christian music, and its fans tonight,” noted Mark Hall lead singer and youth pastor.

The award show was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and for the first time in American Music Awards history, winners were determined by fan online voting at ama.abc.com.

Casting Crowns is the top-selling artist in Christian music with four platinum-selling projects and seven consecutive No.1 songs at radio. Last week, the new album The Altar and The Door was certified Gold by the RIAA after only 10 weeks since its historical debut at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart with 130,000 sold first-week, second only to High School Musical 2 (Sept. 2), setting a new record for a Christian artist without crossover promotion in the mainstream market.

The band’s album remains No.1 on SoundScan’s Top Christian Albums chart for a ninth week, and the project’s first radio single “East to West” is spending its 13th week at No. 1 on Christian AC radio.

The “2007 American Music Awards” presentations ceremony is produced by Dick Clark Productions, Inc., Twenty awards were given out representing the best of Pop/Rock, Country, Soul/Rhythm & Blues, Rap/Hip Hop, Latin, Alternative, Adult Contemporary and Contemporary Inspirational music.

During its four-year career, Casting Crowns has been honored with a GRAMMY Award, three American Music Award nods and multiple Gospel Music Dove Awards serving as the industry’s “Group of the Year” for the last three years. Casting Crowns has been the most played artist on all Christian radio formats combined, with seven consecutive No.1 AC radio hits, and the group has sold more than 3 million albums to date. Casting Crowns’ lead singer and songwriter is full-time Youth Pastor Mark Hall, who is serving his 17th year as student pastor at Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta. All seven band members remain active in student ministry in the Atlanta-area and tour part-time around their local-church duties.

Beach Street Records, an imprint of Reunion Records, a unit of Provident Label Group, was launched by Mark Miller, founder and frontman of the multi-platinum country music act, Sawyer Brown. SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT’s Provident Music Group is one of the world’s leading Christian music companies. Provident Music Group operates under the umbrella of Sony BMG Nashville.



Source

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

Lakewood Church - Free To Worship (2007)


I love the worship songs from Lakewood Church. They songs really touches you, the songs are anointed and they are so great when used and sang in your local church. Lakewood would of course bring you Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff and Israel Houghton!! Woo Hoo!

Free To Worship (released Inspired by Joel Osteen's new book, Become a Better You), Free to Worship is the newest LIVE recording from Lakewood Church.
I can't wait to get my hands on this CD... and will definitely share with you my fav songs on this CD!! Should be soon! :)

CD Track List
(Click on the links to download MP3 30secs samples )
(Download Lyrics .. link below)

  1. Everywhere That I Go - Steve Crawford [video below]
  2. Still Standing - Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff
  3. Free To Worship - Da'dra Greathouse [video below]
  4. Always Welcome - Steve Crawford, Da'dra Greathouse
  5. It Is Well/At The Cross/Mighty To Save - Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff
  6. We Have Overcome - Steve Crawford
  7. Turn It Around - Israel Houghton
  8. Love So Amazing - Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff
  9. Your Love - Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff
  10. Say So - Steve Crawford
  11. Favor - Steve Crawford




Watch the Video of the First Song of the Album - Everywhere That I Go





Watch the video of Da'Dra Crawford singing Free To Worship






Related Links





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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Hillsong - Taking Revival to the World [article]

Australia's largest and most influential church extends its reach to London, Paris, and Kiev.

Step into a Hillsong London service and you walk into the Dominion Theater, which seats 2,000 people. Choose a seat on the balcony or on the ground floor, and when the strobe lights and sophisticated video images begin flashing in the dim theater, you might wonder if you're waiting for We Will Rock You: The Queen Musical!, the show currently running at the Dominion.


Hillsong Church, which recently celebrated its 20th year in Sydney, Australia, is growing its global reach Sunday by Sunday. As the largest church in Australia's history, it regularly attracts 20,000 people to its weekend services. GOD TV, a Christian satellite channel, broadcasts many Hillsong events, boosting its potential audience to 400 million worldwide.





A member of the Assemblies of God denomination, Hillsong has burgeoning church plants in London, Paris, and Kiev, Ukraine. It has also been holding services in Moscow and Berlin. Hillsong's reputation alone is enough to generate huge interest. In London, a Saturday night service and three Sunday services are necessary to accommodate the 7,000 in attendance.


Hillsong is perhaps best known for its music. Its famous worship pastor, Darlene Zschech, wrote the song "Shout to the Lord." It is estimated that 25 million Christians sing that song each week worldwide.


Since the 1990s, Hillsong has released about 50 praise and worship recordings. Hillsong United, its youth ministry and band, has sold recordings by the millions in the American market. Hillsong United began its recent North American tour in Nashville, at the worship service of the Gospel Music Association's music week.


Last fall in London, 3,000 people gathered at the Excel Center for the first-ever Hillsong Conference Europe. On the first night, the crowd hushed and then broke into applause as the lights went off and words appeared on the video screens at the front: "The church is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body in which he speaks and acts and fills everything with his presence."


Applause broke out again as the music began. A lone guitarist stood in the spotlight. Beside the stage, Zschech stood drinking coffee, bouncing up and down in her heels. Hillsong's senior pastor, Brian Houston, stood front and center watching the screens flicker footage of a welcome from Sydney, Australia, to Paris, where a drummer played in front of the Eiffel Tower, to the slums of India to a crusade of thousands in Brazil to a choir in Toronto singing the Hillsong chorus "How Great Is Our God."


This event was a Hillsong-branded depiction of the Great Commission and a moving visual picture of their self-proclaimed mission: "To reach and influence the world by building a large Bible-based church, changing mindsets, and empowering people to lead and impact every sphere of life." And it means "every sphere"—from church growth to politics to revival to social action to personal healing.

Hard to classify

In the summer of 1983, Houston and his wife, Bobbie, began a new congregation in northwest Sydney with about 45 members from Sydney Christian Life Center, the urban church that Houston's father, Frank, started in the mid-1970s. In a textbook example of how to build a megachurch, they increased its attendance 20-fold in less than five years. In 2000, the two congregations were merged and renamed Hillsong.


Marian Edeborg has been a member of Hillsong for 16 years, first in Australia and now in London. A member of the worship team, Marian remembers one of the first Hillsong conferences, which have been held regularly in the church and Sydney school halls starting in 1986. A logistical nightmare, the conference had to be split into different venues. She remembers standing in the cold school hall, waiting to practice their music.


"Brian and Bobbie wanted to build something excellent that reflected God in a beautiful way. Even before it was big and glamorous, it was never just about Hillsong, but about everyone else," she told CT.


Houston, a tall man with piercing blue eyes, has the stereotypical Australian easy-going, "no-worries" manner. He seems to engender a culture of change.


Houston tells his staff: "If your own life is growing, you don't have to be threatened."


He makes sure his life is growing by spending either Friday or Saturday of each week alone in prayer and devotion, and by going for short drives on his Harley-Davidson. Houston's concept of a healthy church comes from Psalm 92:13: "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish."


"It's the will of God for people to be able to flourish in our environment," Houston says. "So the question for every pastor is: Can people flourish under your ministry? If they can't flourish, why should they stay planted?"


And flourish Hillsong has. In fact, because it is so unusual in its size and range of ministries, religion scholars have had a hard time classifying it. It does not fit neatly into what some scholars call the first and second waves of the global Pentecostal-charismatic movement—denominational Pentecostalism and the independent charismatic movement.


Houston is president of the Assemblies of God in Australia (AGA), but he's remarked that the denomination does little to shape Hillsong Church. His congregation is roughly 10 times the size of the AGA biennial gathering. Hillsong is distinct from traditional Pentecostalism, which has historically focused on speaking in tongues, charismatic expression, revivals, and being "baptized in the Holy Spirit."


Since Hillsong began in the 1980s, it cannot be included in the second-wave charismatic movement either, which took shape in the 1960s. Second-wave charismatics typically are independent and cross denominational boundaries with relative ease. Most significantly, the second wave touched mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. Second-wave charismatic teaching puts significant emphasis on the "in-filling of the Holy Spirit," the expression of spiritual gifts, and end-times teaching. It is more socioeconomically diverse than classic Pentecostalism.


In the 1980s, church growth professor C. Peter Wagner wrote The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, describing what many now call the third-wave or neo-charismatic movement. Examples would include the Vineyard association, founded by the late John Wimber, and megachurches like Hillsong. They emphasize the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in individual believers and holistic mission, and many (but not all) leaders de-emphasize expressions of historic Pentecostalism, such as speaking in tongues and being "slain in the Spirit."

'The Hillsong Factor'

Hillsong's influence, however you classify it, has grown beyond the religious sphere. It is politically influential enough in Australia that during election season, commentators talk about the "Hillsong factor."


Hillsong members have found common cause with Australia's conservative politicians. In 2002, John Howard, the conservative (Liberal Party) prime minister of Australia, opened Hillsong's convention center. The church has held discussions on national issues, and certain political groups worry that Christian conservatives are using the Hillsong organization and numbers for political purposes.


This fall, Australia will hold national elections. Leading Australian politicians Peter Costello and Bob Carr have made pre-election visits to Hillsong. To some critics, such visits are evidence of lobbying within the church, and with 20,000-plus members in one congregation, Hillsong has a significant amount of ballot-box power.


Senior pastor Houston denies that Hillsong has a partisan agenda. He sees a difference between a church being involved in politics and individual Christians being involved.


"There is a fear of what we represent, anti-this and anti-that; if you're pro certain agendas, you're going to see the growth of the church as a threat," says Houston. "In our own country, agendas are impure, and it's much more to do with what you and I represent, with what they would feel is the growing of fundamentalism and what that threatens."

'Getting to Give'

Another controversial aspect of Hillsong's ministry has been some of its teaching and practices. Mainstream Australian news media and Christian counter-cult groups consider Hillsong part of the manipulative health-and-wealth movement. As Hillsong's global profile has grown exponentially, its critics have also grown in number and intensity.


The U.S.-based anti-cult website RickRoss.com hosts a forum with critiques of Hillsong teaching. Australian Baptist, Anglican, and Roman Catholic leaders have all accused Hillsong of promoting harmful prosperity teaching.


In January, The Briefing, an influential evangelical publication in Australia, published articles on Hillsong, faulting its lack of emphasis on classic Christian doctrines. It said systematic exposition of Scripture was "virtually absent" from Hillsong's conference teaching. One columnist called for evangelicals to boycott Hillsong recordings in order to reduce the church's income and influence.


This summer, more criticism appeared in the book People in Glass Houses, in which social worker Tanya Levin wrote about her childhood at Hillsong. Levin labeled Hillsong leaders fundamentalists and said they are preoccupied with money. "It's a corporate organization being run by corporately trained people to achieve economic outcomes. Economic outcomes are the new measure of spiritual success and sign of blessing."


Australian academic Shane Jack Clifton of Australian Catholic University is one of the few religion scholars to study Hillsong, Australian Pentecostals, and charismatics. In his doctoral dissertation, Clifton said that the rapid growth of the AGA has resulted in a greater emphasis on financial wealth, church-growth methods, and the "theology of blessing."


Clifton points to Houston's 1999 book, You Need More Money: Discovering God's Amazing Financial Plan for Your Life, as one example of Hillsong's "getting-to-give" teaching that the church's critics have been disparaging for years.


But Hillsong says that, contra its critics, it teaches a balanced view of prosperity, a view common in Pentecostal circles. For example, another AGA leader, Steve Penny of Kings Christian Church, has elaborated on the concept of biblical blessing. In his dissertation, Clifton quotes Penny saying, "Prosperity is not an option, but a mandate and responsibility to all who believe in the authority of the name of Jesus. … The essential core of the Christian life is sharing. Prosperity has very little meaning if it does not include the ability to bless others."


This perspective on blessings is evident in the famous Hillsong sound bite, "Blessed to be a blessing." Leaders teach that Christian discipleship and social engagement with the poor are essential aspects of ministry.


In his opening message for the Hillsong Conference Europe, Houston put it this way: "Jesus embraces the poor. He doesn't embrace their poverty. If we don't have a revelation that God wants to build our lives, we'll never be able to build others'. If you have nothing, you can do nothing."


Clifton said Houston now shies away from using the word "prosperity," replacing it with the idea that faithful Christians should "flourish" in all aspects of life.


Houston has been very quick to deal with some accusations. In 2004 the Sydney Morning Herald reported, "Houston tackles criticism with the same gusto he applied to allegations that his father, Frank, had abused a child in New Zealand 30 years ago. He confronted his father, removed him from active ministry at Hillsong, and then told his congregation."

Revival where you are

Traditionally, Pentecostals have viewed revival as a church-based and church-organized event, and said that the fervor of believers must be maintained by great expenditures of time and talent from the local church leadership.


Hillsong leaders, on the other hand, teach that it is the responsibility of individual Christian disciples to take revival into the world. "The rivers of living water are in you, so revival is where you are," said one of the pastors. This may be one reason Hillsong's influence is spreading internationally.


Houston says, "For my father's generation, [revival] had more to do with being in the front of the church. For me, it's much more to do with what we're called to do. The Spirit is upon me to reach hurting people. I really believe that the church needs to be focused out."


Several years ago, Houston created the Hillsong Network and launched it using the corps of loyal church leaders who attend the annual Hillsong conference in Sydney, Hillsong's signature event. Its mission is "to champion the cause of the local church." Houston says, "The bigger picture is to build a healthy model for church that people feel like they can grab hold of."


The network is designed to produce resources for church leaders. Local church leaders have the opportunity to attend "network intensives," which are courses with titles like "Five-Star Church Intensive," "Worship," and "Kids' Ministry."


Houston desires to build the local church, rather than to replace it. "If I tell church leaders I'm here for them, but build a Hillsong Church next door, what am I really saying?"


In the U.K., Brian Wallis, who has been an evangelical pastor for 25 years, is a good example of the kind of church leader attracted to Hillsong. His current congregation in Hampshire, England, has 50 members.


Attending Hillsong's first conference in the U.K., Wallis speculates on the reasons for Hillsong's growth. He looks for things that might be useful to him.


"They make a big effort to be welcoming, user-friendly, and community-orientated," Wallis told CT. "Society is so insular that this type of community draws people. Hillsong is very sophisticated. I have to understand that I can't hit that in my church. We don't have the talent or the budget, but I can learn from the principles."

The God factor

Hillsong London has doubled in size every 12 months for the past four years. That's due in part to word-of-mouth marketing, quality music, and upbeat services.


"Obviously, the God factor is big," Houston adds good-naturedly with a smile. He also believes that people attend the church in such great numbers because "they are genuinely being helped." And there is no question that thousands are helped.


Take Christine Caine, overseer of the Hillsong Network and the community action and evangelism stream. Caine grew up poor, living with her second-generation migrant Greek family in government housing before it was cool to be Greek, before My Big Fat Greek Wedding, she says. Men abused Caine for years when she was a child. She later discovered she was adopted. Although she's only five-foot, four-inches, Caine has a commanding presence, and when she's speaking, she fills the space, whether in an interview room or on a stage in front of thousands, where she walks confidently around the platform.


Caine is articulate and at times brash, not afraid to be honest, not afraid to make people uncomfortable. "You can almost hear them squirm," she says, referring to people listening to her testimony, "because finally someone has put words to their experience.


"I grew up with a lot of reasons not to make it. When I got saved, I got saved. I had to work through rejection and shame and hurt, but I was personally transformed."


People often say to her, "I can't believe how healed you are." Her reply: "Isn't that what Jesus does? It's the gospel."


In her words: "My proclamation flies on the wings of my life, my wholeness." Part of Hillsong Church for 18 years, she said sitting under healthy biblical teaching and being part of a loving, faith-filled community helped her overcome an abusive past.


"This generation doesn't believe in truth," she says. "They need to see Christians radically believing and living out their beliefs in their day-to-day lives."


Hillsong's members start within their own communities. Hillsong City Care (formerly Hillsong Emerge) works to reduce unemployment, crime, and abuse of drugs and alcohol. Hillsong helps people launch small businesses. Raelene was trying to provide for her three children alone, and Rachel, an experienced architect, wanted a career change. Both Raelene and Rachel were unemployed. Hillsong helped them to start a fashion business, Redfern, connecting them with professional designers.


Redfern has since coordinated numerous successful fashion events and has won $15,000 from the Social Ventures Australia "Big Boost" awards. They continue to expand their product line. Such individuals benefit from Hillsong's social initiatives and, Houston believes, attend Hillsong as a result.


The Hillsong Foundation includes many different outreach initiatives, including some that focus on eradicating poverty in developing nations like Rwanda and Uganda. Hillsong is the largest single sponsor of Compassion International children, with more than 3,000 supported. Hillsong also works closely with Samaritan's Purse, Watoto in Uganda, and Joyce Meyer Ministries.


Working with Compassion has become personal for Darlene and Mark Zschech, who visited Rwanda for the first time in April 2004. They were overwhelmed by the great needs they saw. As they prepared to fly out of Rwanda, Mark Zschech heard a question resound in his mind: "What are you going to do about it?"


It was a difficult question, one that would change them. "It just breaks you," Darlene says softly when speaking of her time in Rwanda. Out of that experience came the idea for Hope Rwanda, which includes education and building programs, among other projects, and the sponsoring of 1,000 Rwandan children. Beginning in April 2006, it lasted for 100 days—the same length of time as the 1994 genocide.


"For the rest of our lives, we'll be in Rwanda," Darlene says. "I don't want to be involved in anything that's not about that." The renowned worship leader speaks of caring for the poor as worship. Loving people in a practical way. "People don't want to let me serve anymore," she says. "I tell them I need to."


Most of Hillsong Conference Europe is focused around helping the poor. On the first evening, 40 minutes into the conference, Gary Clarke, senior pastor of Hillsong London, belabors the offering. The next day, while waiting for the train to the Excel Center, conference attendees complain about the ten or fifteen minutes spent on raising the offering. They may or may not forgive him. But the money will go toward providing clean water to a village in Uganda.


Bobbie Houston, co-pastor with her husband, Brian, remarks that the purpose of the conference "is not to feed our ego. It's about empowering you to go home and be amazing." And the message is clear: Being amazing at home entails an outward focus on others.


Houston believes the goal is for the "church to reach beyond its own walls, help the poor, and start making a serious difference." Caine wants to make sure people understand that "helping the poor is not the latest Hillsong fad." It is an essential part of the gospel.

The Young Europeans

Garreth Symmonds is a 17-year-old attending Hillsong Conference Europe with his father, David. It was Garreth's idea to attend the conference. He's also hoping to attend Hillsong's International Leadership College in Sydney when he finishes high school.


His father approves. "He's converted me," David says. "I now have Hillsong and Delirious? on my iPod and run to them at the gym." The two attend the contemporary worship service at their small Anglican church. As with many churches, the Symmonds' church has an earlier, traditional service and a later, contemporary one that caters to a younger crowd. "Where I used to enjoy the hymns, I now find some of them a bit drab," David remarks.


Joel Edwards, general director of the Evangelical Alliance U.K., speaks about the new cultural realities facing the European church. "Europe is a continent in search of its soul," he says. "If Christians pretend that we live in a Christian continent, we make a gross mistake in terms of how we do missions. But if we recognize that Europe is a continent in search of itself, then the church is in an excellent position, and we'll begin to do missions and church in ways increasingly relevant to the culture around us."


In Edwards's view, Hillsong is succeeding in terms of its relevance to the European cultural landscape.


"I think it's an exciting model of church that is attempting to be both a professional and a contemporary community in the 21st century. I'm increasingly grateful that Hillsong is beginning to look outward."


Most Hillsong London members are next gen—young professionals who have recently made a Christian commitment. I spoke with Christian Fontana, who stood at the door of the Excel Center wearing a red Hillsong T-shirt to show he was part of the welcoming team.


Christian has been attending Hillsong London for two months. An aspiring musician, he had been working at an investment bank when a girl with whom he worked invited him to Hillsong.


"I was lost," he says. "I was spiritually aware even though my family wasn't religious at all. I was always searching but nothing was fulfilling." Christian says he was attracted to the people at Hillsong. "I had never met such warm, friendly people in all of my life." When he stepped into the Dominion Theater and the service started, he burst into tears. He understood that the things he was afraid to let go of—drugs, women, friends who weren't really friends—were just "chains around my legs." Christian began attending a mid-week study where he could ask questions and get connected. He has since quit his job at the bank to pursue music. "I have an album out that I'm promoting," he says, giving the CT reporter his card, "but back to God. …"


Hillsong Church is taking its music and message out of the church and into the lives of those in need.


No, the Sunday services at the Dominion Theater in London are not Queen's musical, but the people attending might leave singing to the world: "We will rock you."


Cassandra Zinchini is finishing postgraduate work at the University of London and teaching at Geneva College.






Friday, November 09, 2007

African Nite Worship at Glad Tidings

Its been a blessing in Glad Tidings to welcome the mass of African Students that come from various countries of the African continent and have now started to call Glad Tidings their "home church" in Malaysia.

Recently we had a nite dedicated to the Africans, with many African students rising up in worship, playing musical instruments, the african voice choir and more!! It was an awesome awesome celebrative, non stop, unable-to-sit-down, dancing - moving, jumping for the Lord, kinda worship nite!!

I trully enjoyed myself in the presence of God and would like to share with you some moments captured that night on photos and videos. (Would like to thank The Reflector for all the pics & vids)




African Nite Worship at Glad Tidings

The African Worship Band which consist of some Africans and also

some of our local Malaysians. Yeah .. the Africans were really dressed for the nite!

Resego (pronounced ... Ray-Say-Ho), she's an anointed singer

and she was one of the Worship Leaders for the nite! Awesome!

Kopo .. our acoustic guitarist ... plays regularly on the worship band

in our worship services.

Emmanuel ... cool name huh?

He's a PK (Pastor's Kid) ... a trully annointed guy always seem to have

a "Word from the Lord" and shares and worship from his heart. Cool dude!

And this Thabang (Abang with a "T") .. and he has an awesome bass voice.

IN fact all the Africans have great voices, when they come together and worship

the voice that comes forth is trully amazing.

Resego and the Singers leading the Church into Worship

I trully love the way the Africans express themselves in Worship.

Its totally without any inhibitions and self consciousness, they just worship freely

with their mouth and dance and movements ... its trully amazing!! :)

- A Worship Culture that Malaysians still have to do some "catch up!"

And yes .. our other Worship Leader ... Le Roy who is totally Chinese

and behaves, dance, moves, sings like pure African!! :)

Video of Worship Song @ African Nite : Jo Na Na Jo







I love this song done by the Africans. Its called Jo Na Na Jo.

Sing and celebrate along in this super catchy tune.

Chorus (translation in English)

Jo Na Na Jo (Heya!)

Jo Na Na Jo

Na Na Jo

(Repeat)

Verse

Ke Letsatsi (This is a Day)

Le monate (A Great Day)

La morena (Of Our Lord and Savior)

Jeso Keresete (Jesus Christ)






Another Video of African Worship Nite











Related Links


Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Review of Michael W Smith - It's A Wonderful Christmas

Michael W Smith's new Christmas Album is a superb Christmas production. You know just like a movie soundtrack where you hear the entire ensemble from the Orchestra, that's how the entire album sounds like. With songs, music instrumentals and duet with American Idol's Mandisa .. all the 11 songs were done so so well.

I would say that the album is different from those "Christmas CD" that you would wanna play, hit Repeat, in a Christmas Party. This is a collector's item. I also do believe some of the songs could be used in soundtracks for movies with Christmas themes. Its really really well done.

And to get a fore-taste of how the entire CD will go, take a look at the "Making Of Its A Wonderful Christmas" Video below. Check out the Orchestra in action and Michael does some explanation of the songs that was done in the CD!! Really really excellent!

Yes its totally worth to purchase it. :) Thanks Michael W Smith for this great Christmas album!



It’s A Wonderful Christmas features the winning singer-songwriter joining forces
with four amazing choirs, among them a 100-voice choir and also a 16-member
London boy’s choir directed by John Tobin, and a 67-piece orchestra at London’s
Abbey Road studios. Also featured is a duet with American Idol’s Mandisa. As the
strings soar and the bells ring, you can almost feel winter’s nip in the air and
smell the fragrance of pine trees as Smith’s music puts you in that holiday
mood.




It's a Wonderful Christmas CD Tracks

1. Christmas Angels

2. It's a Wonderful Christmas

3. The Promise

4. Song For the King

5. Christmas Day [Duet with Mandisa] (Soundtrack used for MWS Video - Operation Christmas Child)

6. A Highland Carol

7. Sing Noel, Sing Hallelujah

8. Son Of God

9. What Child Is This

10. Audrey's Gift

11. All Year Long


You can sample all the songs on MWS's website





The Making Of "Its A Wonderful Christmas" Video. Its a must watch!












Additional Links

Source



[tags : ]

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Michael W Smith & Darlene Zschech in Gelredome, Netherlands

Michael W Smith and Darlene Zschech Flyer


Michael W Smith & Darlene Zschech performed live in a Worship Concert on 6 Oct at the Gelredome Arnhem in Holland, Netherlands.


It was in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of the "Evangelische Omroep". We heard it was a blast .... two awesome worship leaders bringing God's people into His Presence.


The songs that was done:
  • Open the Eyes
  • Forever
  • Salvation is Here
  • At the Cross
  • Step by Step
  • Lord, I give you my Heart (This is My Desire)
  • Draw me Close
  • Healing Rain & Let it rain
  • Still
  • Shout Unto God
  • One Way
  • Awesome God
  • Stand

We managed to find a couple of amateur videos online that captured some beautiful moments of the live worship with Michael and Darlene leading the songs.



Official Website : http://www.eo.nl/michaelanddarlene




Michael W Smith and Darlene Zschech2



Michael W Smith and Darlene Zschech4

Michael W Smith and Darlene Zschech1 Michael W Smith and Darlene Zschech3










Video of Michael W Smith & Darlene Zschech : Song ~ Take It All / Stand







Video of Michael W Smith & Darlene Zschech : Song ~ Shout Unto God







Video of Michael W Smith & Darlene Zschech : Song ~ Stand







Video of Michael W Smith & Darlene Zschech : Our God Is An Awesome God








Source of Flyers & Pics

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Monday, November 05, 2007

20 New Christmas CDs to Choose From

I love Christmas and the spirit of Christmas that is so evident each time December comes about. Even unbelievers celebrate Christmas and shares the spirt of Giving! This is the best time to evangelise and reach out and to share our faith with those who have yet to hear!

So why not give a Christmas Album as gift. This is the best season where everyone would hear the name of Jesus, virgin Mary, God's love on the Radio and not complain about it! :)

Anyway ... this is a lengthy list of 20+ new Christmas albums that is released in US. And there are some I would really like to get a hold of ... ie Jars of Clay's Christmas Songs, Josh Groban's Noel, Relient K's Let It Snow Baby, Michael W Smith's Its a Wonderful Christmas, Jaci Velasquez Opeh House Christmas EP and WOW Gospel Christmas!!


Anyway .. check out the reviews below of the CDs i just mentioned and some others!!


Christmas Music Wrap Up 2007

The Christmas spirit is alive and well in the music business this year, with more than twenty new releases in the Christian market—some of them late arrivals from 2006, but we haven't even included everything that's available for 2007.

The phrase "something for everyone" has never been more applicable: pop, rock, classical, gospel, country, jazz, and however you want to define Mannheim Steamroller as. It's been a while since we've seen so many big names release Christmas projects within the last year, some releasing albums of all-new material, some releasing collections of old-favorites, and some simply releasing short EPs. It's an amazing testament to the many different styles with which we can celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the profound impact God's gift of love has had on the world.




What a Wonderful Time Yolanda Adams
What a Wonderful Time (Columbia/Integrity)
Soul/gospel pop
4 – Excellent
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Yolanda Adams is a soul diva, so it's no wonder she treats What a Wonderful Time—her second Christmas album and first for Columbia Records—as a soul album. That may disappoint her gospel fanbase, but it's a joy for those who love to see Adams kick back, relax, and do something more befitting her inner urban songstress. Not as carol-oriented as her first yuletide offering, the disc favors original material over traditional numbers, but that's not a problem in light of all the class and elegance on display here—think Anita Baker or early Whitney Houston. "With God" and "Hold On" in particular are noteworthy as proof that even at her most carefree and soulful, Adams doesn't forget what she's made of. What a Wonderful Time, indeed.—Farias




Acoustic Hearts of Winter Aly & AJ
Acoustic Hearts of Winter (Hollywood Records)
Pop/rock
3½ Stars – Good
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This late 2006 release gets my vote for one of the worst titled Christmas albums ever. Besides sounding like a bad Japanese-to-English translation, a third of the 30-minute album isn't even acoustic. "Greatest Time of Year" (from 2006's The Santa Clause 3) is a sprightly rocker descended from '50s/'60s Motown Christmas hits, and the girl-rock of "Not This Year" is inspired by those who struggle to find joy during the holidays. They're pretty good songs nonetheless, and the majority of the remaining 9 tracks are indeed acoustic versions of classic Christmas carols. Though a couple of arrangements feel rushed, it's a surprisingly cross-generational sound that doesn't cater exclusively to the Radio Disney audience. And to their credit, the Michalka sisters live up to their Christian heritage by primarily sticking to hymns, though bouncy versions of "Deck the Halls" and "Let It Snow" are also fun. Clumsy title aside, Aly & AJ's pleasant Christmas album is better than some would expect.—Breimeier




Homecoming Jim Brickman
Homecoming (SLG Music)
Instrumental piano/easy listening
3 Stars – Good
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With its mix of instrumental and vocal, traditional and original, sacred and secular, Jim Brickman's third Christmas release Homecoming feels more or less like a lesser version of its predecessors The Gift (1997) and Peace (2003)—only the song titles and guest vocalists seem to have changed. Former Lonestar vocalist Richie McDonald delivers the sappy power ballad "Coming Home for Christmas," while the late Gerald Levert is featured on a Christmas version of "My Angel" (originally from Brickman's Escape album). It's more or less what you would expect from the pop pianist, and in this case, more of the same isn't as unwelcome as it seems unnecessary. There's ultimately no denying Homecoming makes a warm and pleasant piano-led backdrop for innumerate holiday activities, be they familial, social, romantic, or reflective.—Breimeier




A Guitar's Carol Keith L. Cooper
A Guitar's Carol (Reel Loud Records)
Instrumental guitar pop
3 Stars – Good
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This former guitarist for Denver & The Mile High Orchestra is clearly an amazing talent, certainly in the same league as virtuosos like Phil Keaggy and Erik Mongrain. Keith L. Cooper's second solo album (currently only available online and at concerts) matches a wide variety of stylistic interpretations to holiday standards. The more inventive the better, as heard through the Latin feel of "What Child Is This" and the old-world gypsy flavor of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." And less is more with impressive solo acoustic arrangements of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum," a jazzy "We Three Kings," and a sublime rendition of "The First Noel." But the disc falters when it sounds like a Weather Channel soundtrack ("Silent Night," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"). An inconsistently good effot.—Breimeier




A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines Diamond Rio
A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines (Word/Curb/Warner)
Country/standards
3½ Stars – Good
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Diamond Rio says they've wanted to make this Christmas album ever since their 1991 debut, and now they're the latest to go inspirational country … well, to some degree at least. The title track is the only new one, but it's an excellent slice of country-pop with a clever chorus about the continuing influence of Christmas/Jesus: "The star still shines after all this time as a light for me and you/It beckons us to seek Him, and wise men still do." After that, it's somewhat disappointing that "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" are the only other sacred tracks on the album. Those who don't mind an album that favors standards over hymns will thrill to the authentically countrified arrangements, including "Winter Wonderland," "Sleigh Ride," and the bluegrass of Tex Logan's "Christmas Time's a Comin'." Some renditions are more predictably straightforward than others, but the overall musicianship of Diamond Rio is stunning as they manage to vary their styles enough while remaining true to their sound. – Breimeier




Noel Josh Groban
Noel (143/Reprise/Warner Records)
Classical/pop/standards
4 Stars – Excellent
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Some vocalists were born to make a Christmas album. Josh Groban's flawless, robust tenor resides somewhere between opera and Broadway pop, perfectly matched with the production talents of David Foster (Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli), the London Symphony Orchestra, and a variety of choirs. The fact that Groban was raised Anglican-Episcopalian might explain why he relies predominantly on sacred Christmas tunes, including less commonly heard classical pieces like "Panis Angelicus" and one of the finest performances of "Ave Maria" you'll hear. Culminating with a reverential "O Come All Ye Faithful" featuring organ and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Noël is richly saturated with tradition. Yet some of the arrangements are pop enough to keep it interesting, such as an initially acoustic "Angels We Have Heard on High" duet with Brian McKnight, or "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" delivered in 4/4 time with a gospel choir. Still, more stylistic variation would be welcome to stretch Groban's range, and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" will seem either poignant or schmalzty depending on your tolerance of those radio remixes with phone messages (in this case, to and from soldiers in Iraq). But overall, Noël is sure to remain a Christmas favorite for years to come.—Breimeier




Christmas Songs Jars of Clay
Christmas Songs (Gray Matters/Nettwerk)
Alternative pop
3½ Stars – Good
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Say this much for Jars of Clay's first full-length Christmas album, the first on their Gray Matters record label: it's impressive that the band brought Brit-pop credibility to Paul McCartney's infamously trite "Wonderful Christmastime." And they succeed with other artful covers as well—the Baroque carol "Gabriel's Message" (popularized by Sting), a slick jazz-pop interpretation of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmastime Is Here," a horn-driven arrangement of "In the Bleak Midwinter," and the thoughtful poetry of "I Heard the Bells of Christmas Day." Jars' originals, however, are more mixed. Their romantic standard "Hibernation Day" and the alt-pop of "Peace Is Here" work well, but "Winter Skin" is repetitive and forgettable, and their reworked "O Little Town of Bethlehem" seems too dark and monotonous. The guys have also remade "Drummer Boy" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," though they did better with the songs on their Drummer Boy EP—why bother revisiting these 12 years later? The greatest flaw with Christmas Songs is the drab and overly reverberated production—which sounds homemade and very different from Jars' previous albums. Christmas Songs has its strong points, but for as many impressed with it, there are surely others who will find it underwhelming.—Breimeier




Christmas Scott Krippayne
Christmas (www.scottkrippayne.com)
Piano-based adult contemporary/traditional
4 Stars – Excellent
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Underneath the more routine AC pop conventions of Scott Krippayne beats the heart of a soulful piano man resembling Billy Joel and Harry Connick, Jr. At least that's the sense from this 7-song, 27-minute EP independently released in late 2006, revealing a side of Krippayne we don't hear often enough. "Christmas Time Is Here Again" is an expertly performed piano boogie about the real reason for the season, while "It Wouldn't Be Christmas" is a sentimental love song reminiscent of standards like "I'll Be Home for Christmas." The disc is 100 percent Krippayne, piano and vocals—his accompaniment is smartly handled and the vocal arrangements are truly impressive, particularly the overdubbed gospel parts on "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and an a cappella "The Christmas Song." Thanks to good old-fashioned musicianship on every track, Christmas is near perfect in its simplicity.—Breimeier




Christmas Song Mannheim Steamroller
Christmas Song (American Gramaphone)
Electronic new age/easy listening
1 Star – Weak
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To think this perennial favorite was considered fresh and progressive when their first album of contemporized Christmas classics released in 1984. But Mannheim Steamroller's music hasn't aged particularly well, and their first original holiday offering since 2001 is as stale as re-gifted fruitcake. Despite modern advances in keyboard and recording technology, the insistence on using tacky synths and programmed drums that were out-of-date back in 1990 seems more stubborn than nostalgic—and less fluid. Tracks like "Feliz Navidad" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" sound overly mechanical, while a sickeningly computerized "Frosty the Snowman" is enough to clear the room of unwanted Christmas guests. A tedious jazz arrangement of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" overstays its welcome in just 20 seconds. For all the lumps Christian pop takes for sounding behind-the-times, the pop accompaniment for Johnny Mathis ("The Christmas Song") and Olivia Newton-John ("Christmas Lullaby") is much worse. And for what it's worth, this album relies on secular songs (11 of 12) more than their previous efforts. Love it or hate it, everyone should agree Mannheim Steamroller's previous work—though similar—is much better than this.—Breimeier




Wishing for This Leigh Nash
Wishing for This (One Son Records)
Pop/country
3½ Stars – Good
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Like most Christmas albums, this late 2006 release (available only as a digital download from iTunes) relies primarily on cover songs. But then most of the EP's 7 tracks aren't the usual covers, and Leigh Nash's sweet tone is perfect for crooning Christmas classics while exploring a couple lesser-known country gems. Gabe Dixon makes a suitable duet partner for a delightfully retro sounding "Baby It's Cold Outside." Wham's "This Christmas" is transformed from '80s pop cheese into something more like Sixpence's "Kiss Me," and Dolly Parton's country tearjerker "Hard Candy Christmas" is equally wistful. Even more appealing are renditions of Ron Sexsmith's "Maybe This Christmas," which touches on the hope of the season, and Kate York's "Eternal Gifts," about the things we should really be asking for Christmas: "Santa may bring things that last for a year, but eternal gifts come from the Savior." As an EP, it feels too lightweight to ever turn into a memorable Christmas project, but Wishing for This remains a treat for fans nonetheless. —Breimeier




Christmas … From the Realms of Glory Bebo Norman
Christmas … From the Realms of Glory (BEC Recordings)
Acoustic pop/folk
4½ Stars – Excellent
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Bebo Norman's warm vocal and accessible blend of folk and pop make him an ideal candidate for a Christmas album—he previously collaborated with Ed Cash and Allen Levi for the 1997 independent release Joy, where his acoustic lullaby "Mary's Prayer" originally appeared. Fans of the soaring pop on Norman's 2006 release Between the Dreaming and Coming True will find much to love here, particularly "Come and Worship," an excellent setting of the text from hymn "Angels From the Realms of Glory." There's a lovely flowing pop rendition of "Silver Bells," and he makes "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" slightly upbeat without compromising the song. On the folksier side is his original "Christmas Time Is Here" (with Amy Grant) and an almost Appalachian rendition of "O Come O Come Emmanuel." Really, the album's only misstep is altering one familiar melody too many by remaking "Joy to the World" into a jubilant two-step. But kudos for boldly including Jackson Browne's "The Rebel Jesus," challenging Christians to live charitably all-year-round. Based on the brilliant "Born to Die" and the hammered dulcimer "Angels Interlude," From the Realms of Glory could well be the Christmas album Rich Mullins never got around to making.—Breimeier




Snow Angels Over the Rhine
Snow Angels (Great Speckled Dog)
Jazz-pop/alt-folk/Americana
3½ Stars – Good
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If you can discern a difference between winter albums, holiday albums, and true Christmas albums, Over the Rhine's second seasonal project (released in late 2006) is a bit of all three. Unlike the moodier atmosphere of 1996's The Darkest Night of the Year, this is a jazzier ode to the varying facets of the season, and with all new tunes, one of the more original Christmas albums. That means no cover songs, aside from a bluesy reinvention of "Jingle Bells" ("One Olive Jingle") and a reworked "O Little Town of Bethlehem" that evolves into a plea for peace on earth ("Little Town"). The husband-wife duo gets romantic with "Snowed in With You" and the more suggestive "North Pole Man," but then "Darlin' Christmas Is Coming" and the prayerful "New Redemption Song" allude to the hope and forgiveness stemming from Jesus' birth. All that, plus a delightful tribute to Vince Guaraldi Trio's Charlie Brown music ("Goodbye Charles"), yet nothing is quite as memorable as their best work; "Snow Angel" comes closest with its sad story of war-torn love thanks to its gorgeous folk-hymn melody. Still, Over the Rhine's musicianship is arresting and beautiful as expected.—Breimeier




One Wintry Night: A David Phelps Christmas David Phelps
One Wintry Night: A David Phelps Christmas (Word/Warner)
Pop
2½ Stars – Fair
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No question that David Phelps has an amazing set of pipes—one of the best in Christian music. It's his creative decisions over recent albums that have divided fans and critics alike. Phelps crosses that line again here by spanning the gamut from the inspirational sounds of 2nd Chapter of Acts and Josh Groban to the bombast of Meatloaf and Queen (sometimes within the same song). Christmas albums are perfect for demonstrating eclecticism and vocal prowess, but there comes a point where the wide variety becomes unfocused and layers-upon-layers of vocalizing overwhelming. Hence why fans expecting the purely classical sound of his first Christmas album Joy, Joy or the Southern gospel of his tenure with Gaither Vocal Band have been frustrated. Phelps is at his best when he doesn't try as hard (e.g. crooning over a light jazz arrangement of "Blue Christmas," delivering "Away in a Manger" in a challenging whispered hush). Instead, he sounds as if he's trying to perform a one-man Christmas show, and ends up overdoing it. His voice may be capable of incredible range and disparate styles, but his album is not.—Breimeier




Let It Snow Baby … Let It Reindeer Relient K
Let It Snow Baby … Let It Reindeer (Gotee Records)
Pop/rock
4 Stars – Excellent
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Hear ye, hear ye fans of Relient K. Knowest thou 10 of the 16 tracks featured on yon "proper" Christmas album from Christian music's favorite punk-pop band previously appeared on their Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand bonus disc in 2003. And their Inspired-by-Narnia track "In Like a Lion (Always Winter)" from 2005 is also included, even though it doth have little to do with Christmas. Thus Let It Snow … is more re-release/rehash than new offering, but the songs were fun before and still fun now, as are the five new tracks. Relient K has an appropriately bratty punk rock take on "I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas," their arrangement of "Sleigh Ride" delightfully mixes jazz with punk, and The Beach Boys would be proud of their version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." The band also offers two melancholic originals in step with, well, their previous melancholic originals. A fun "best-of Christmas" disc from Relient K, and great for those who missed Deck the Halls the first time. Other fans would be wise to simply download the new tracks rather than re-buy what they have.—Breimeier




It's a Wonderful Christmas Michael W. Smith
It's a Wonderful Christmas (Reunion/Provident)
Orchestral pop/soundtrack
4 Stars – Excellent
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It's not only a wonderful Christmas, but also Michael W. Smith's 20th album in an illustrious 25-year career. His third holiday project stylistically falls somewhere between 1989's Christmas and 1998's Christmastime (every 9 years, eh?), with a little bit of his 2000 instrumental project Freedom thrown in. The sweeping orchestrations are back, though more schmaltzy with the pop feel of a film soundtrack—the whimsical title cut is a dead ringer for John Williams' contributions to the Harry Potter films. The instrumentation is rich, featuring four choirs and a 65-piece orchestra recorded at London's Abbey Road studios. Nearly half the disc is instrumental, some more Christmas sounding than others—"Song for a King" is a deeply expressive piece for piano and violin, but "A Highland Carol" seems more an excuse to play with bagpipes. The vocal pieces are generally strong (celebratory "Christmas Angels," the mini Advent epic "The Promise"), but Smitty's best is oddly the one he doesn't sing on, the choir-and-orchestra anthem "Sing Noel, Sing Hallelujah." As a whole, Wonderful Christmas is a little too familiar and not as inventive as Christmas was, but the music is crafted with more than enough originality and excellence to make it worthwhile.—Breimeier




Songs of the Season Randy Travis
Songs of the Season (Word/Warner)
Country/pop
4½ Stars – Excellent
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Since his shift to a Christian music label at the turn of the millennium, the career of Randy Travis has been on the up-and-up. What's helped Travis is his ability to remain authentically country in his faith confessions, a genuineness that continues to be his strongest suit in Songs of the Season, his second seasonal collection in nearly 20 years. Whether interpreting church or pop standards, Travis knows how to turn in a good country performance. More often than not the results are plain beautiful, like his reading of Andrew Peterson's "Labor of Love" or the calm ambiance of "The First Noel." Elsewhere, Travis charms with "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays," disarms with "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and enchants with the toe-tapping "Joy to the World." Lushly orchestrated, meticulously rendered, and reverently sung, Songs of the Season is one of the best Christmas albums this year.—Farias




Open House Christmas EP Jaci Velasquez
Open House Christmas EP (A'postrophe)
Pop
2 Stars – Excellent
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More a treat to bring fans up to speed with her latest happenings than a proper Christmas disc, Jaci Velasquez's sparse Open House Christmas EP has too little going for it to even qualify for stocking stuffer—it's more like a Christmas letter/postcard. The abbreviated offering includes a playful piano-pop take on "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," a heavily programmed version of the New Year's traditional "Auld Lang Syne," and the original "Quiet Christmas Night"—a straight-faced ballad that recalls her Unspoken sessions. These are followed by an audio interview, which isn't exactly soul-baring, but still a candid conversation about her divorce, remarriage and upcoming album, tentatively slated for release in Spring '08. — Farias




Happy Holidays from Vickie Winans Vickie Winans
Happy Holidays from Vickie Winans (Destiny Joy)
Gospel-pop/R&B
3; Stars – Good
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They don't call Vickie Winans the "hardest-working woman in gospel music" for nothing. Less than a year after leaving Verity Records, she got right back to working on her first Christmas album independently. Without missing a beat, Winans' flamboyant character shows through every track, particularly the Christmas workout "Holiday Jam" and the sappy "Motown in Yotown Family Song"—likable, but ultimately a bit indulgent. The disc retains its caffeinated effect throughout the duration, with Winans' smoky vocals atop a cornucopia of keys, synths, and drum loops. The more the merrier, it seems, with only a handful of times where the singer actually slows down to catch a breath ("A Merry Little Christmas," "My Peace"). Overall, it's an upbeat soundtrack for the post-shopping madness, but not one that will necessarily make you stop and reflect.—Farias




Bethlehem Skyline Various Artists
Bethlehem Skyline (Centricity Records)
Pop
3½ – Excellent
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The Centricity Records roster presents this likeable (though conventional) collection of Christmas favorites, previously only available for download, now in stores. Downhere offers two timely originals: "Glory to God in the Highest" is a fairly routine Christmas anthem, but "How Many Kings" is a terrific pop song about the unique gift of love expressed through Jesus' birth. Circleslide's "Jesus Is Born" covers familiar territory, bearing the influence of bands like The Choir and Common Children. The rest are reasonably good covers of hymns and standards by Cicrcleslide, Jaime Jamgochian (with a blended worship style), Jason Gray (who delivers a spot-on cover of Pierce Pettis' "Miriam"), and Daniel Kikley (sounding very Josh Groban on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"). All of them come together for a simple-yet-stirring rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful." A standard Christian pop effort, but still pleasantly done.—Breimeier




Love's Holiday: A Gospel Christmas Various Artists
Love's Holiday: A Gospel Christmas (Time-Life)
Gospel/R&B
3½ Stars – Good
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An assemblage of some of the biggest names in R&B and gospel music comprise Love's Holiday: A Gospel Christmas, an album whose title and star power may lead one to believe it's a yuletide collection for couples who happen to be gospel lovers. (Think of it as the intersection between Christmas and Valentine's Day.) Patti LaBelle, Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross, Mary Mary, Gladys Knight, Christina Aguilera, and Vanessa Bell-Armstrong are just some of the names present here. The slick, soulful offerings do not always sound Christmas-y enough—sometimes they feel more like capsules drawn from the '90s urban-pop playbook. But there are ultimately enough slow grooves and joyful jams to entice lovebirds and churchgoers alike.—Farias





Songs4Worship: Christmas Various Artists
Songs4Worship: Christmas (Integrity)
Worshipful pop/R&B
3½ Stars – Good
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No stranger to worshipful Christmas music, Integrity Music decided to collect a sampling of some of their seasonal offerings over the years and use the Songs 4 Worship brand to aim them at their core consumers. Which is why NewSong's "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" sounds so out of place—it's the one secular pick in the worshipful 2-disc set. Other than that, the assortment is a reverent, peaceful affair with a cast that includes MercyMe, Sara Groves, Don Moen and other notables. Highlights include Israel & New Breed's haunting "Tidings," Paul Baloche's congregational "Offering," and "He Made a Way in a Manger," an original performed by Candi Pearson-Shelton that cleverly plays off the traditional Christmas hymn of similar name. Overall, every song hits the mark as far as bringing the focus to the real reason for the season.—Farias




WoW Gospel Christmas Various Artists
WoW Gospel Christmas (EMI Gospel)
Gospel-pop
3½ Stars – Good
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It's not all that common for contemporary gospel artists to record Christmas albums, so it's nice of the WoW franchise to go to the vaults of some of gospel's biggest labels and assemble this two-disc set of highlights. There's plenty to relish in the 30-song collection: CeCe Winans' lovely "Do You Hear What I Hear," Smokie Norful's soulful "O Holy Night," LaShun Pace's funkafied "Go Tell It on the Mountain," Darwin Hobbs' cooler-than-cool "Little Drummer Boy"—and that's only the first disc. Not everything here is Christmas music proper, mind you—Donnie McClurkin's "Agnus Dei," Kurt Carr's "Holy, Holy, Holy," the Tri-City Singers' "In the Presence of a King," and Donald Lawrence's "Lamb" are more Sunday morning in general than Christmas morning in particular, but their worshipfulness definitely works in the context of the Messiah's birth. For a varied gospel collection with the best bang-to-buck ratio, this one fits the bill.—Farias



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