Review of GLORY IN THE HIGHEST- Chris Tomlin

[TheWorshipCommunity]

I just love Christmas. Really, I do. Except for the few months following the holiday season, I could literally listen to Christmas music for hours. (In fact I annoy everyone in my office by starting to play Christmas music on July 3rd!) That being said, I hav... (continue reading full article ...)

[milepost13]

Here are a few thoughts from me:

"Glory In The Highest" - We actually introduced this song in our church for the first time in December of 2006 as a Christmas song, and it quickly became a congregational and band favorite, so I was stoked to see that CT had finally written a third verse just for Christmas.

"Joy To The World (Unspeakable Joy)" - Quite probably my favorite version of this song ever...the music fits perfectly with the lyrics, and the new chorus that CT has written is so much fun to sing. Our band and worship choir are rocking this one!

"My Soul Magnifies The Lord" - With lyrics coming straight out of Scripture (see Isaiah's prophecies, Mary's prayer, etc.) and another infectious chorus, this is by far the best original congregational Christmas worship song I've heard in a long while. We introduced it with our band and worship choir this past Sunday, and I can already tell that this is one we'll be singing at our church for many Christmases to come.

BTW, I've written choral parts for all three of the songs above...one of the things I love about CT is his willingness to use choirs in his recordings.

Nate

[EncounterChicago]

Wow! This cd has now become the pinnacle of Christmas albums within my holiday traditions. I like to consider myself a Christmas music expert, and this one takes the lead easily! I literally haven't been able to take it out of my cd player since I first got it.

Our worship band played "Angels We Have Heard On High" last week, and the congregational response in singing "GlORIA In EXCELSIS DEO" was SOOOO huge! God was so lifted high!

This week we are doing "My Soul Magnifies the Lord." This is probably my favorite song on the cd (besides "Winter Snow") It's just such a wonderful anthem with praises to God eminating from the soul.

"O Holy Night" gives me goosebumps EVERYTIME I listen to it! The arrangement is so simple yet soooooo powerful. It proves you don't have to mess with these songs to make them more powerful.

The thing I love about this album is that it takes Christmas Carols and puts them completely within a worship setting. So Chris' version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" is so much more worshipful than say...Nat King Coles (still a great version, but completely different setting).

I had the priviledge of seeing Chris in concert last night and it was sooooo amazing to sing these songs within a congregation! The band was tight as always, and chris sang the heck out of these songs. IF you have a chance to catch his "Glory in the Highest" tour....DO IT!!! It was soooooo powerful and a great way to center myself on what Christmas is....a baby being born in Bethlehem, who is the Savior of us all. wow!

[Keep Singing]

Well, I had to wait until Christmas to get to listen to this (how's that for self-control?!), but it was worth the wait! To be honest, I was a little sceptical: Christmas albums often promise much, but rarely get beyond the saccharine. This one is a really good combination of new and traditional and I love it!

I agree with previous comments - it's going to be hard to sing 'Joy To The World' (one of my favourite carols) without the additional chorus now and one of the things I like so much about Chris Tomlin is how Scripture can be so easily learnt through his songs! (as others have said, 'My Soul Magnifies the Lord' has lyrics straight out of Isaiah & Luke.) Perhaps the most surprising additions for me were 'Winter Snow' (I'd never heard Audrey Assad before) and 'Born that we may have life'. Great songs.

[free_by_grace]

Originally Posted by EncounterChicago

"O Holy Night" gives me goosebumps EVERYTIME I listen to it!

I totally agree. Sometimes as a musician you forget that you are not just a performer but a worshipper, too. We used several from this album in our Christmas Eve service and I truly felt drawn into worship through O Holy Night.