Album Review of HILLSONG’S FAITH+HOPE+LOVE : A Worship Leader’s Perspective

FAITH in the midst of personal circumstances,

HOPE in Jesus for the future, and

LOVE one for another.

Hillsong…once again…BRINGS IT! This new album is an amazing work of worshipful art. Each song carefully crafted, to magnify and lift up the Name of Jesus! As a worship leader, I look for music that the church can quickly pick up on, and is easily singable, and music that leads the church right up into the thrownroom of Almighty God. This album is chock full of music any church can add to their rotation of worship songs, so I’m very excited to start teaching it to our team!

It was an honor to be asked to write a review of the album, and my pleasure to experience it before its release to the world,  on August 3, 2009. This is Hillsong’s 18th live album, and they just keep proving their incredible musicianship and collective heart for worship over and over again.

I wanted to give you a taste of each song, individually, so I’ll start at the top, with…

First and Last

“Great is Your Name, Jesus; the First and the Last…”

This is a great, medium tempo song that is perfect for the middle of a worship set, maybe right before a slower ballad.

Good for a male leader, with a nice female harmony behind it.Very worshipful!

For Your Name

“For Your Name shines in all the earth…”

This is a more upbeat, younger sounding piece, perfect for an opener. I love the chorus! It’s easily singable for a congregation, with male/female singing unison on the same octave. I could “hear” some higher harmonies that can be added, if desired.

Glow

“Let the Earth come to life in the light of Heaven’s glow…”

This is a unique song that I can really see becoming a favorite at our church!

“…with one voice we cry Hallelujah”

It’s Your Love

“For the King carried the cross; He is risen from the grave”

I can’t wait to lead this one! Nice theme on keys and guitar together at the beginning, and between the verses. The bridge repeats, building, and then there’s a section of “ohhh”…just singing and playing, no words…love the uniqueness of this part. And then, there’s an interlude that builds and the worship leader recites John 3:16, for a powerful crescendo of this freestyle worship section, and then as it ends, the instruments get quieter, and continue to play as the worship continues. I love this, because I have felt and said so many times- the song doesn’t have to end just because we’ve run out of lyrics. It’s ok to have quiet…no singing…just enjoying the presence of the Lord…beautiful.

“It’s Your love…it’s Your love…it’s Your love that has saved me”

I Will Exalt You

“My hiding place, my safe refuge, my treasure, Lord, You are. My friend and King, annointed One, most holy”

This song starts out with a long lead-in, so during that time I imagine the lights dim, and then softly coming up as the verse starts. This song is easy to learn, very worshipful, and would sound nice with either male or female leading it. Wayne and I lead as a team, so we tend to follow whatever the original artists did, as far as the vocal leadership of the song goes. But this would even sound nice with simplified instruments, maybe just acoustic guitar, and solo voice. It’s a lovely, flexible song.

“I will exalt You…I will exalt You…I will exalt You…You are my God”

Simple. Worshipful. Beautiful.

Yahweh

“We look to Yahweh, Yahweh. Forever Yahweh, Yahweh…We look to Yahweh, Yahweh. Our Hope, Yahweh, Yahweh.“

This song has awesome dynamics; of course! It’s HILLSONG! They certainly know how to keep the worship fresh all the way through a song, even if there’s a lot of repetition in the lyrics. It’s all about dynamics, and they have mastered the art.

I love how you can hear the church singing out when the instruments get quieter. This song is great for a church; it’s simple, easy to learn.

No Reason To Hide

“Nothing compares to You; nothing can separate us from this Love”

Strong, pounding drums begin this one- instantly building energy! What is so impressive is that every song, even the louder, more driving songs still are consistent with the dedication to speaking relevant, full-bodied truth in the song’s message. You won’t find shallow or  “empty” lyrics with Hillsong!

“You’re alive and we are free; You are everything, everything we need!”

God One and Only

“You’re the One who saved my soul; Who gave me life, so I’ll give it back to You, my God, God – One and Only!”

This is a FUN song to open your worship set with! Looking forward to using this to start off a Sunday morning service!

The Wonder of Your Love

“The wonder of Your love will break the chains that bind us…The power of Your touch releases us to worship…”

This piece has beautiful verses and a poetic pre-chorus. Wonderful congregational song. Very much looking forward to introducing this one to my church.

“Sing out to God, sing Hallelujah. With all we are, we will worship You…”

His Glory Appears

“You gave me hope, You made me whole at the cross. You took my place, You showed me grace at the cross, where You died for me.”

This song has quite the story… When Hillsong United came to our city, some friends of mine went to see them. They came back with the most amazing things to say about this song. One described it like this: “When she started singing it, it was like the Holy Spirit moved across the crowd and everyone just KNEW the song! Everyone was singing it with her, like they knew it! We were all singing it and worshipping together as one body!” And then after, he went home, remembering it well enough to write out the music for it, and played it in our church the next Sunday morning. This song has made quite an impact, already.

It’s a beautiful song of gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice, with a captivating piano interlude in the middle. I have, on a few occasions, just listened to this song over and over again, without ever growing tired of hearing it.

“And His Glory appears like the light from the sun; age to age, He shines… Oh look to the sky, hear the angels cry, singing Holy is the Lord”

We The Redeemed

“There is nothing like Your love; no exchange for all You gave…”

I love the build into the 2nd verse. A simple yet worshipful song. It’ somewhat lengthy, but could easily be shortened to fit within a church worship set.

“This is the sound of the redeemed rising up to praise the King…”

We Will See Him

“We will see Him coming on the clouds of heaven, exalted. We will see Him, high and lifted up; He reigns in majesty…in holiness…”

This is one of my favorites on the album. Awesome harmonies, terrific melody, uplifting lyrics!

You Hold Me Now

“No weeping, no hurt or pain, no suffering… You hold me now, You hold me now…”

You can immediately hear the church singing out from the very beginning of the song. I love how the leader drops out on the first chorus. That sound of the church singing their hearts out to the Lord is such an immense blessing to any worship leader! I can’t wait to do this one in our church! What wonderful words of comfort about our Heavenly Home!

The part toward the end that says “Your kingdom come, Your will be done….” could be sung with the “No weeping” chorus quietly added by one vocalist as a background counter melody, if you wanted to get a little creative with it.

So, there is my take on each of the songs. I absolutely love Hillsong, and have enjoyed playing/singing their music for many years. They never disappoint, and their musicianship is unmatched. If you would like to purchase this album, you can go here to do so. I hope you’ve enjoyed my review, and I pray that you will let God fill your heart with Faith+Hope+Love!

Much Love and Singing,

~LeAnn