Review and MP3 Download: 2015 Christmas Albums from Chris Tomlin and Danny Gokey

Official album art for Chris Tomlin's 2015 Christmas album "Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship"

Chris Tomlin - "Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship" 2015 Album Download (43MB)

Chris Tomlin's Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship is the go to album as far as congregational worship over the festive season is concerned.

Though the market is saturated with seasonal outputs every year and though it's almost mandatory for every artist to release a Christmas album somewhere along his/her career, few are the Christmas songs made for congregational worship.

Tomlin whose pen has supplied the vocabulary and scores of countless worship services with staples such as "Love Ran Red," "Our God, "How Great is Our God," is back with his festive debut Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship. The titular is most revealing, this is an 11-track record made for the service of the church. This is arguably the CD's chief strength.

The strength of this album is that many of these songs are going to work their way into the soundtrack of many worship services in the years to come. Already making its way into this reviewer's church Christmas repertoire is the worship ballad "A King Like This." Capturing melodiously both the majesty of the Christ-child as well as the palatability of his incarnation, "A King Like This" is both intimate as well as Christ-exalting. "Adore" has all the melodic arrays of a Tomlin ballad (a la "Love Ran Red" and "Jesus Messiah"). And the choir which gives the chorus a more substantial backing creates an inviting atmosphere that calls forth the worship in us.
Worship leaders who get tired of just churning "O Little Town of Bethlehem" year after year may check out Tomlin's newly written "Bethlehem." Just like the hymn, "Bethlehem" is a show and tell worship number where Tomlin gets us up, close, and personal with the Christ-child in the stable in Bethlehem. "He Shall Reign Forevermore" is lifted as the album's introductory single. One can grasp the reason behind the choice with one listen. It's an anthemic worship piece that traverses through from the softer notes to those high and glorious crescendos. But at the end of the day, "He Shall Reign Forevermore" borders on the safe and clich side.

Besides the brand new songs, Tomlin also does what is quite a prevalent move these days, that is to weave a new song into an old hymn. In this regard, Tomlin does an A+ job with "Midnight Clear (Love Song)." Here "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" becomes not just a song about
Christ but it becomes a song of love to Jesus. Kristyn Getty, on the other hand, doesn't add much to "Silent Night" and Lauren Daigle would be better off doing one of Tomlin's original rather than a rehash of "Noel." Precisely because this CD is made for congregational singing, Tomlin is not as creative as say MercyMe (on their newest Christmas album) with his re-imaginations of the old carols.

Bearing all the marks of Tomlin's worship albums, "Adore" carries on Tomlin's rich legacy of making music for the church. If you are looking for songs made to be sung as worship pieces to God, this is a treasure trove.

Official album art for Danny Gokey's 2015 Christmas album "Christmas Is Here"

Danny Gokey - "Christmas Is Here" 2015 Album Download (38MB)

Danny Gokey, well known for his mega hit singles “Hope In Front of Me” and “More Than You Think I Am”, brings his own style and flair to a new holiday album, Christmas Is Here. 

In addition to featuring a few brand new songs, the record is full of holiday classics like “White Christmas,” “Mary Did You Know?,” and “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Each song is unique from past versions because his unparalleled voice and musical style bring such a soulful and powerful flavor to each track. Speaking about his new release, Gokey says, “My fans have been asking for a Christmas album for years, telling me my voice would be perfect for these songs. Everyone had their favorite songs that they wanted me to include, so we tried to get in as many as possible. I’m really proud of the way it turned out."

“Give Me Jesus” truly reflects the meaning of the Christmas season. Danny turns this familiar hymn into a Christmas song that you won’t soon forget. This song is soft and quiet but carries a strong message that is meaningful for the Christmas season. Gokey yet again brings so much heartfelt emotion into the lyrics he sings in a way that only he can.

“What Christmas Means to Me” has everything you expect a truly great Christmas song to have. It’s even complete with a choir and a trumpet section. Danny fills this song with Christmas spirit, love, and joy. When you listen to this song, if close your eyes, you will be instantly able to vividly picture Christmas trees, lights, family, and friends!

“Lift Up Your Eyes” is fast and upbeat. This song talks about lifting up your eyes to the Savior, Jesus Christ, during the Christmas season. “Lift Up Your Eyes” is unique from most traditional holiday songs in that it focuses on the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus' birth! This song can really be played any time of the year, because its message stays the same, powerful and encouraging.

Danny Gokey’s Christmas Is Here is definitely the perfect album to get you in the holiday spirit. Whether it's a beautifully written original song or a fresh take on a holiday classic, Danny brings a unique sound to Christmas music with this record. This album proves what Gokey’s fans have been saying for years, that his voice is perfect for Christmas songs!

I hope you'll enjoy both albums and we celebrate the birth of our Savior. 

References

1. Hallels.com
2. TheChristianBeat.org

Bonface Morris. 

Review and MP3 Download: Hillsong Worship - OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild 2015 Album

Hillsong Worship's OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild official album art.

Hillsong Worship - OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild (2015) Deluxe Edition Download (92 MB)

In summary (all you may need to know about this album):

1. OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild is the 24th annual live worship album by Hillsong.

2. It is a live recording done between June and July this year (29 June to 3 July) during the Annual Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia; and it features all the Hillsong worship teams (Worship. UNITED & Y&F). 

3. It is the first album that Hillsong Church has recorded live at its Annual Conference in Sydney, Australia, and more than 25,000 people were in attendance. 

3. This album was released worldwide on October 16, 2015.

4.  It includes Hillsong's free Easter single released in March this year: O Praise the Name (Anástasis).

5. The Album Hit No. 1 On Australia's ARIA Album Chart  on the week of release and was touted "One Of The Best Worship Albums Of The Year" and "A Lyrical Masterpiece". (JFH)

Track listing
Below is the Deluxe Edition track listing (16 tracks).
Note that the standard edition only has the first 12 tracks in the same order.

01. O Praise The Name (Anastasis)
02. Love On The Line
03. One Thing
04. Open Heaven (River Wild)
05. Transfiguration
06. What A Saviour
07. Heart Like Heaven
08. Jesus I Need You
09. Here With You
10. In God We Trust
11. Faithfulness
12. Never Forsaken 13. Here Now (Madness) (ft. UNITED) 14. Rule (ft. UNITED) 15. This Is Living (ft. Y&F) 16. Medley: Pursue/All I Need Is You (ft. Y&F)

Music style and acceptability
Hillsong continues with their contemporary approach to worship music; using acoustics, drums, percussions and synths to move one from low pitches to high and overlapping sounds.
Unique to this album is the ability of having a good sync of backup vocalists coming in strongly to bring about a "duet kind-of sound" to every song.

Worship leaders from several Hillsong Church locations, such as Aryel Murphy from Hillsong Los Angeles, Chris Davenport from Hillsong New York, Tarryn Stokes from Hillsong Stockholm and Reuben Morgan from Hillsong London, were included in the recording.

You are able to get both a modern sound and a swing of the old Hillsong music style: near alternative, almost folk/pop but majorly contemporary. But as I mentioned in my review of Hillsong Worship's 2015 album "No Other Name" here, there are still no high tempo songs on this album. This  already seems to be a trend we can confidently predict. 

Besides having all this talent and gifting on the album, I still have a feeling that it would have been a bonus if Lecrae was invited to do his thing on "This Is Living" just as he had done it on the original track on the This Is Living EP. It would have given the album a wider audience and reception.

The album, as noted in the summary above, has been widely accepted by music fans across the globe. Gospel music enthusiasts and reviewers from The Christian Beat, New Release Today, Jesus Freak Hideout and Worship Leader have also agreed that OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild is a remarkable album.

Album art, album title and song titles
The waves that are the main view of the album art march well with the title and songs therein. In their blog (read it here: Art Behind OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild) Jay Argaet says, "I don’t know about you – but I love this title. I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when I first heard the lyric “…open heaven crashing over me”. Creatively, I knew this artwork needed to visualise His spirit crashing towards us. There were a few preliminary failed attempts when first capturing this idea, but it was when we found inspiration in ocean waves that it started to come together. We first attempted to use photos from the coast of Sydney – however, when you think about the Holy Spirit crashing over me, I couldn’t help but  envision enormous waves not just small shore breaks. This is what led us to Shipstern’s Bluff in Tasmania – one of the biggest known breaks on earth, at times reaching 30ft... This wave exemplifies the Holy Spirit in my eyes – an untameable, unbreakable wave crashing towards us. It makes me think of Jesus’ heart towards a lost humanity – an unstoppable wave of grace, love, forgiveness, and acceptance rolling towards those who let Him in. Shooting the wave was no easy walk in the park – with the generous help of our Hillsong Hobart location, we shot the break from both boat and shore."

If you've read my review on tobyMac's ***THIS IS NOT A TEST***, you heard me mention that stylization seems to be "the in thing" today as far as album titles and artist names are concerned, thus in this spirit, Hillsong named this album OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild. It is not a bad thing, more so considering that Heaven (where greatness and salvation come from) is capitalized to imply this attribute...

The song titles and the content within are okay (according to me).

Audibility, singability, fluidity, quality and flow of music

The album generally has a smooth flow from song to song. Considering that almost all songs in the standard edition of the album are low tempo songs (way below 80BPM), transition from track to track is undisturbed. (Try listening to the album with a 5 seconds crossfade and you'll prove me right.)
The album is of good quality both soundwise and vocal-wise. All songs are singable in a congregation of people of all age groups. (But, again, this depends on a church's music style.)

Lyrical content

This album features songs written by a variety of Hillsong worship leaders including Reuben Morgan, Taya Smith, Marty Sampson, Joel Houston, Ben Fielding and others. 

"In Jesus... heaven opens, and in us He stirs a 'River Wild'... a passionate explosive love for God and for the humanity He created," explained Hillsong's Global Creative Director Cassandra Langton. "This is the premise of the album and our prayer is that these songs would ignite and stir within you a passion for God and a love for people."
I am sure that this album, together with the wonderful placement of words and Scripture within the songs, will minister to the global church.

Read the various song stories here;

1. Love on the Line Song Story

2. Transfiguration Song Story

3. Open Heaven (River Wild) Song Story

Read on the meaning of OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild here.

Conclusion

Fans of Hillsong will be as captivated as ever by the definitive sound of this live album. Lush keyboards, booming drums, ornate and driving guitars, passionate lead vocals, and the compelling landscape of several thousand voices in the conference crowd… all of this and more provides for a heartfelt album that worshippers and worship leaders around the world will draw from for years to come!" - LifeWay's WorshipLife,

Review and MP3 Download: tobyMac - This Is Not A Test Full 2015 Album

Official album artwork for tobyMac's 2015 album "This Is Not A Test"

DOWNLOAD: tobyMac's "This Is Not A Test" Full 2015 Album (55MB)

In summary (all you may need to know):

1. DC Talk are back!! Yes, the music group with which tobyMac rose to fame is featured on the album. Read more on how DC Talk changed the Christian music scene in 1995 with "Jesus Freak" here » How 1995 Changed Christian Music Forever | AN NRT EXCLUSIVE EDITORIAL 

2. NF (a new Christian Hip Hop artist signed with Capitol CMG whose album "Mansion" is making waves amongst Gospel Hip Hop lovers, and which I'm voting in as this year's number one Gospel Hip Hop album) is also featured.  

3. Toby's music style is still as eclectic as ever. He is still flying high the dance-pop/electronica/techno flag.(No wonder his good mentoring has been felt in the recent albums by Mandisa and Jamie Grace.)  

4. I added two remixes of "Beyond Me" (the single from this album that was released early this year) which I'm sure you won't be finding elsewhere.***happy happy smiles***  

5. And, of course, the download link to the deluxe edition of the album is shared above.

Track listing

This Is Not a Test (stylized as ***THIS IS NOT A TEST***) is tobyMac's seventh studio album. The album was released on August 7, 2015. 
The Deluxe Edition of the album (which I am sharing in the download link above) features 14 tracks (with 2 added remixes from my other sources) while the Standard Edition has 11 tracks. 

The Standard Edition track listing is as below;

1. Like a Match (3:07)
2. Backseat Driver (3:21)
3. This Is Not a Test (2:39)
4. Lights Shine Bright (4:35)
5. Til the Day I Die (3:47)
6. Feel It (4:39)
7. Move (Keep Walkin') (3:41)
8. Love Broke Thru (3:57)
9. Beyond Me (3:13)
10. Love Feels Like (4:19)
11. Undeniable (3:41)     

Music style and acceptability

Toby's music genre has always been very unique. Quite a good number of Gospel artists now record music under the genre. They include; Mandisa, Group 1 Crew, Gamie Grace, 1 Girl Nation, Tori Kelly, Britt Nicole, Sada K... Just to name a few. The genre is widely received and played amongst young Gospel music lovers, and so, I guess, is (or will be) this album.

Generally, this album features a fusion of three major genres; dance-pop (commonly known as Christian electronic dance music), electronica and techno. There is some minimal touch of Hip Hop too.

Note: The song "Feel It" featuring Mr. Talkbox has that 90s soul-pop touch makes you feel like you're having some cool music from way back; and to add to that, it made me somehow crave a tobyMac+Danny Gokey collaboration. 

You'd also realize that there is a good balance between the number of male and female artists featured on the album.

Album art, album title and song titles

The album art (according to me) is not all that appealing to the eye. It tends to make you think the image had a problem downloading and it therefore came out with distorted pixels and an unclear resolution. But, anyway, looking keenly at the album art, you would notice that it tends to tell me, "Morris, remember that 'this is a not test'". 

Stylization (if that's what I can call it) seems to be the new trend in acquiring both artist names and album titles nowadays. Here are a few examples of stylized artist names: tobyMac, UNITED, for KING & COUNTRY & NEEDTOBREATHE e.t.c). So, I guess, Toby is just flowing with the trend on this one by deciding to name the album ***THIS IS NOT A TEST***.

The name of the album and the naming of the featured songs give in to a good balance between basic poetry, simple naming and right-on thematic integration. They are understandable and not that misleading.

Audibility, singability, fluidity, quality and flow of music

The album flows well from song to song and the production is well managed (considering that several artists and recording companies are featured on the album.)

Lyrical content

Marking from what I saw Toby do at the 44th Annual GMA Dove Awards (where he happened to win two awards), he still is really good at song-writing and mastering lyrical content. 
It is a good thing that Toby has ensured that his music is still theologically deep and Christ-centered regardless of the genre he uses (which many conservatives may choose to greatly oppose.)

Conclusion

***THIS IS NOT A TEST*** is a great album, especially for the millennial who would want to add some upbeat high tempo dance music that is still fully centered on Christ to their Gospel music collection. I hope you will be excited and encouraged after listening to it.

References

Wikipedia
New Release Today

Written by

Bonface Morris.

Mercy Masika – Mwema (Good) Lyrics & free mp3 Download

Okay guys, because many have been requesting, here goes…

 Download link (3.89 MB)

 Song: Mwema

Album: None (Single)

Year released: 2015

Artist: Mercy Masika (Kenya)

Genre: Kenyan Local Gospel (Swahili song)

Lyrics:

Verse 1:

(Oh, oh)

 (Still Alive…)
(Wako Mwana, ukamtuma, duniani (Your Son, You sent into the world)

Kisa na maana, nipate uzima, jamani (For this reason that I may have life, for real)) x2

Bridge

(Ishara kwamba unanipenda zaidi (As a sign that You love me so much)

Hivo nishaelewa, sifa nitakupa zaidi (I now I understand and I praise You more…)) x2

CHORUS:

(Lead: Na siwezi jizuia (…and I can’t hold it back)

All: Kusema wako wema (To tell of Your goodness)

Lead: Sio kama najigamba (It’s not like I’m boasting)

All: Umenitenda mema (You’ve done good things to me)) x2

Umekuwa mwema kwangu… (You’ve been good to me…)

Verse 2:

Lead: Umenitoa gizani (You’ve taken me from darkness)

All: Nilipokuwa nimeshikwa mateka (Where I had been imprisoned)

Lead: Ukanipa tumaini (And You gave me hope)

All: Kwako nikajificha (In You I took refuge)

Lead: Sasa nitakupa nini (So what will I give to You)

All: Iwe sawa na yale umetenda (To be equalled with all You have done?)

Lead: Hakuna ila moyoni (I can’t repay You, but with all my heart)

All: Sifa nitakuimbia (I’ll sing Your praises)

Bridge

Solo: Ilikugharimu (It cost You)

All: Msalabaani unifie (To die for me on the cross)

Solo: Hivo inanibidi (And so I am compelled)

All: Sifa nikuimbie (To sing Your praises)

Lead: Wema wako niseme (To tell of Your goodness)

All: Ili na wengine wakujue (So that others may know You too)

Lead: Wote waungane nami (And that they may join me)

All: Na wazee ishirini na nne (Together with the 24 Elders)

CHORUS:

(Lead: Na siwezi jizuia (…and I can’t hold it back)

All: Kusema wako wema (to tell of Your goodness)

Lead: Na sio kama najigamba (It’s not like I’m boasting)

All: Umenitenda mema (You’ve done good things to me)) x2 

Lead: Umekuwa mwema (You’ve been good) 

All: Kwangu… (To me)            

Lead: Wacha niringe, umekuwa mwema (Let me boast, You’ve been good)

All: Kwangu… (To me)

Lead: Oh Yahweh, oh oo (Yahweh, oh oo)

All: Kwangu… (To me)

Lead: Oh umenitendea, aa aa ah ah, acha niimbe (Oh, You’ve done a lot for me, aa aa ah ah, lemme sing)

CHORUS:

(Lead: Siwezi jizuia (I can’t hold it back)

All: Kusema wako wema (To tell of Your goodness)

Lead: Na sio kama najigamba (It’s not like I’m boasting)

All: Umenitenda mema (You’ve done good things to me)) x4

                                                        

Lead: Siwezi jizuia!! (I can’t hold it back!!)

NB: This music is copyrighted material. All rights of ownership belong to the composer, artist and recording company.

Bonface  Morris.

Hillsong Young & Free "This Is Living" EP Album (2015) mp3 Download

This Is Living EP official album art - Hillsong Young & Free, 2015

Hillsong Young & Free released an extended play album (EP in short - which is a musical recording that contains more music than a single, but is usually too short to qualify as a full studio album) "This Is Living" last week on Tuesday, January 13, 2015.

The EP features a track by the same name with Lecrae.

Taking on electronic dance music style with a little pop touch, Hillsong Young & Free offers a glimpse at Hillsong Church's Youth Ministry with the new EP's lead track "This Is Living," which has been available on iTunes and major music stores worldwide. 

"The wait is over! #ThisIsLiving is now available worldwide," the band wrote on Twitter on Tuesday last week and this threw many fans of their music (including myself) into a rush of anticipation. 

On featuring Christian Hip-hop singer and Grammy award-winner Lecrae on "This Is Living", they wrote and said,  "For us it was a dream come true to collaborate with Lecrae who we not only love and respect as an artist, but as someone who is a strong voice for freedom to this generation... If anyone's message echoes the message of 'This Is Living', it's Lecrae."

On Tuesday last week, Lecrae (@Lecrae) voiced his own excitement for the track's release, tweeting: "My friends @hillsongyandf just released their EP & I'm on the track #ThisIsLiving. Check it out here..." as he posted a link to where the fans may access and download the new music. 

Meanwhile, the new Young & Free EP also includes a newly-recorded version of "Sinking Deep," which was first released on the group's debut album "We Are Young & Free" released in 2013. An acoustic version of "This Is Living" is also among the new album's songs. Rounding out track list for "This Is Living" are the songs "Energy" and "Pursue."

The announcement of the new EP was also done via YouTube in a clip featuring Lecrae.

Here is the download link to the EP containing 5 songs:

Hillsong Young & Free "This Is Living" EP (2015) full mp3 download (21MB) 

Note:
This review was partly obtained from  www.christianpost.com.

Bonface Morris.