A Passionate And Soild Worship Album
Posted August 23, 2010
By SarahFine_NRT, Staff Reviewer
Hard to believe it has been nearly eight years since Jeremy Camp’s released his first worship project ‘Carried Me’ in 2004, the follow-up to his powerhouse debut ‘Stay‘. Much has happened since then, three successful studio albums, two live LP‘s, and a Grammy nomination. You’d think with that kind of momentum, the sure thing to do would be to stick to “what’s working” --but Jeremy Camp has never been the one to follow the patterns of what‘s expected from a musician. ‘We Cry Out: The Worship Project’ has been an album in the making for nearly two years, and it has been well worth the wait.
Jeremy has grown much since ‘Carried Me’, spiritually but musically as well, this album being far more organic and live sounding than the aforementioned. Out of the 12 tracks on the album, Jeremy only penned a handful of them, wanting to cover songs God has been using to speak to him, saying of the record, “I feel like I’ve had a growth spurt the past two years in my walk with the Lord, and I think this album reflects that deepening. There’s a purity behind this record that I can’t even describe. I didn’t write most of it, so I can’t take the credit. And I love that.”
The album starts off with the first single ‘Jesus Saves’, and seamlessly leads right into ‘Not Ashamed’, co-written by worship leader Jon Egan. ‘The Way’ is by far my favorite track on the entire album, a powerful song that boasts beautiful string sections and showcases Jeremy’s strong vocals. Hillsong classic ‘Mighty To Save’ appears on the album, followed next by the title track, We Cry Out’. ‘You Are The Lord’ is a beautifully moving worship anthem that I do hope he and the band incorporate into their live show in the future.
Other covers on the album include a faster up-tempo version of Chris Tomlin’s ‘Everlasting God’(originaly penned by Benton Brown) and a very powerful rendition of Desperation Band’s ‘Overcome’, featuring a 30 person studio choir and guest vocalist, Jeremy’s wife Adie Camp. Matt Redman’s ‘You Never Let Go’ (which he and his band have been performing live for the last several years) is sure to lead the listener into a place of true surrender. The album comes to a close with two songs penned by Jeremy, the lyrically powerful ‘Unrestrained’ (“So take this selfish heart of mine / I want to give it all / And melt away everything that’s not of You”), and praise declaration ‘King Jesus’.
From a music standpoint, I can say that ’We Cry Out’ has taken the musicianship of Jeremy Camp and his band to the next level. If anything, it is just an exciting taste of what we can expect off the next studio album. But beyond any of that, this is a solid worship album from a seasoned worship leader. It’s sure to please not only longtime Camp fans, but also anyone looking to truly worship God with everything they’ve got. And while many are going to call this album out for it’s lack of new material, self-penned or not, I HIGHLY recommend it.
In the end, it’s not about ‘a song’ or how popular it is, it’s about worshiping God. I would rather listen to an album with covers sung 1000 times than something without a pure heart of unhindered worship behind it. All it will take you is one listen to realize, ‘We Cry Out’ has that heart --and a lot of it.
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