Michael W. Smith - Worship

Sounds like … a live contemporary worship service, similar to albums through Vineyard and Integrity, only led by Michael W. Smith and an all-star choir.

At a Glance … it's a beautifully produced and performed worship album, but we expected something more creative and original, considering the songwriting talent of the man behind the music.

Russ: As one of the strongest musical presences in Christian music for nearly twenty years, Michael W. Smith hardly needs any introduction here. His latest album, simply titled Worship, marks his first worship project in all that time. Considering Michael's impact on worship music over the course of his career and the recent surge in worship projects over the last few years, both Andy and I felt we should try something different with this album review by presenting a dialogue/dual review—since we're both avid fans, it was either this or arm-wrestling over who got to review this much-anticipated release. So without further ado, Andy, how about giving some background info on this project?

Andy: Well, Russ, Worship is a live recording of 11 popular praise songs, plus 2 studio cuts at the end. The live performance took place on June 1 at the Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Florida, with over 9,000 people in attendance. In addition to Smitty and his band, several artists attended the worship event, many of whom were part of an all-star backing choir, including Amy Grant, Out of Eden, Cindy Morgan, Greg Long, Chris Rice, Ginny Owens, Phillips, Craig, and Dean, Erin O'Donnell, Mark Schultz, Darwin Hobbs, Shawn Groves, and Nathan Walters and Jason Perry of Plus One.

Russ: And of course, Michael served as the worship leader from the piano. It should be noted that Michael has been sporadically leading worship throughout his career, but he's been more actively involved with it now that he's the worship leader at New River Fellowship, a church he recently helped start near his home in Nashville. As I mentioned earlier, Andy and I are both big fans of Michael's past work, from Project to Freedom, so keep that bias in mind. What did you think of the recording, Andy?

Andy: You just can't expect anything less than the best when it comes to a live musical performance by Michael W. Smith. As is true at any Smitty concert, he has a superb backing band, and of course for this album he's got the all-star choir to boot. As always, he really puts his heart into the experience, though I think he puts even more into this because of his passion for worship. Could you hear that too?

Russ: I don't know if I can say he's more passionate here because he's always so good at connecting with the audience in his concerts, regardless of the setting and whether or not he's singing worship songs. I was also impressed with the quality of the recording and the musicianship. The band is very professional, and though there are plenty of instrumental solos, they never overwhelm the listener and the sense of worship. Michael's piano stands out, of course, the guitars are generally soft and acoustic, and there's some good percussion to complement the drums. Probably the most ear-catching element of the band's sound is the violin, which often solos during the transitions between songs. Though it makes the sound a little reminiscent of a Yanni concert, it still lends the recording a more beautiful and different sound than average. How about the song selection?

Andy: Michael's said he's committed to picking the finest worship songs, and he definitely selected some of the most beloved ones for the new album. He includes a few classics, such as "Awesome God" and "Open the Eyes of My Heart," and gives them a Smitty twist, as well as some of the newer standards such as "The Heart of Worship" and "Forever." Familiar favorites also include "Agnus Dei," written by Smith, and "Draw Me Close," which was made famous by The Katinas on the Exodus project. Smith and company bring a breath of fresh air to these favorites, and having a whole host of voices in the background lifting up the lyrics proves to be particularly moving.

Russ: I've got to say that Michael has indeed picked a lot of my favorites. There's not a whole lot to critique in terms of performance or song selection, though I wish they did more with "Awesome God" other than repeat the chorus for four and a half minutes. Michael's performed the whole song before, so he could have shortened this and added another song from the concert. The live portion also ends rather abruptly. Michael's daughters Emily and Anna open the album with a Psalm reading (an Introit), but on the other end, the project stops abruptly and segues into the two studio tracks without so much as a benediction or a "Good night and God bless." I also wish the album wasn't so ballad heavy, which makes the recording feel a little too adult contemporary. The only up-tempo songs are "Forever" and "Open the Eyes of My Heart." Of course the slow worshipful ballads are more intimate and powerful sounding, but there could have been a little more balance.

Andy: In addition to all those well-known songs, there are two new ones on Worship. First there's the Lenny LeBlanc and Paul Baloche penned "Above All," which appears twice on the album, as a live track and a studio track. I think the studio version wins out with a glossy and crisp radio-friendly sound. The only other studio recording is "Purified," a pleasant adult contemporary song Michael co-wrote with his wife, Debbie. Both of the studio tracks seem destined to make huge waves on radio.

Russ: I thought "Purified" was pretty good, but "Above All" really impressed me (especially the studio version). To me, that song seems as powerful and catchy as "Shout to the Lord." I appreciate that it praises God with poetic lyrics that set it apart from so many other worship songs today that seem to say nothing new or original. Andy just mentioned something that surprised me, though—Michael didn't write it! Aside from "Purified," there's nothing new from Michael on this album. Here's a guy who's well known and respected for writing some of today's most beloved worship songs: "Thy Word," "How Majestic Is Your Name," "Great Is the Lord," and the aforementioned "Agnus Dei." Why the lack of originality?

Andy: I wondered the same thing too. According to Michael, this record is meant to chronicle the songs he feels the strongest connection to, the tunes he likes to sing in his spare time. Although I can understand his reasoning, I still can't imagine why he didn't include more original material. His songwriting skills are unrivaled in my opinion, and he's written so many timeless standards, including the ones you mentioned. I would venture to say that had Smith included his classic formula for writing great music, this project would be even more appealing.

Russ: I agree, and this is where Worship is a disappointment to me. It's like "Michael W. Smith Sings His Favorite Worship Songs," and I don't think it's the worship album fans were hoping for from him. His previous worship project Exodus was a much more creative expression of worship, even though he didn't really write original material for that album either—as the album's producer, he gave the songs a very different sound than what was typical at that time. I would submit that Exodus is one of the most important worship albums ever, and that it was one of the catalysts that brought worship music back into the spotlight in recent years. Worship, on the other hand, seems like just another live worship recording along the lines of what you'd expect from Integrity Music and Vineyard. I don't want to belittle the worship experience of this or any other recording, but you have to ask yourself what's special about the album to make you buy it, and I think we all know the answer. People aren't going to buy this because it's a powerful expression of live worship—we have thousands of such albums available today. People will buy this because it's from Michael W. Smith … and it happens to be a worship album.

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