Chris Tomlin's "Hello Love": A Review
Posted September 02, 2008
By ChristianManifesto,
by Camaren Stebila
It’s always tough to approach a worship album for review. While the music, instrumentation, and album structure can be criticized, it remains difficult to do the same for the lyrics, depth of emotion, and passion on the disc as they can be perceived as inherently present, intrinsically true, and undoubtedly good. As good critics know, as opposed to coming across snobby, shooting mere opinion as fact, it is better to acknowledge one’s own biases and personal preferences, so feel free to disagree about Tomlin’s latest.
Among today’s worship crew Tomlin has received the most polarized reviews. While his audience swoons over his awe-inspiring singles which have become staples in most American church’s worship sets, critics often remain slightly skeptical, judging his albums on a more holistic basis as opposed to the singles (see “How Great is Our God” and “Made to Worship”). His latest “Hello Love” may escape said criticism.
While the album gets off to a relatively slow start with “Sing Sing Sing” the disc as a whole is relatively energetic, passionate, and authentic. Tomlin’s voice has been brought “up front,” and drives the music just as much as the background instruments.
by Camaren Stebila
“Love” is a memorable African stylized track, featuring a children’s choir singing in their native tongue, and “Praise the Father, Praise the Son” is a rather simplistic song which feels slightly less “Tomlin” and more traditional contemporary worship. (Oxymoron? Think Sonicflood). It is without a doubt that many of these songs will be incorporated into church’s worship sets. The most awe-inspiring, “God Of This City,” has already made its way into rotation, with others in line.
The only drawback to “Hello Love” is that it seems to lose a bit of its initial flare after first listen. Although it’s likeliness to be enjoyed a second and third time is certain, it’s not an album that could be spun multiple times in one sitting. Regardless, if you’re a Tomlin fan “Hello Love” was made for you. If you’re a worship leader, “Hello Love” was made for you. If you’re the typical contemporary worship fan “Hello Love” was made for you. However if you’re a music enthusiast who listens to new music on a daily basis, “Hello Love” will be best utilized for it’s more popular songs, on a great worship playlist.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Manifesto. Click here to visit TheChristianManifesto.com today!
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