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I’m so conditioned to expect mediocre releases from Hillsong that I was really taken aback while listening to their latest CD Faith + Hope + Love. This is by far the best Hillsong album in recent memory. I’m not sure what happened between the recording of this release and their previous effort, Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls but the material is so much stronger this time around. Casual listeners may not notice a difference since the song arrangements and the overall sound mix are pretty typical for a Hillsongs recording. But the well crafted song structures and the depth of the lyrics take this Hillsong release to another level.
And for a change of pace, a Brooke Fraser Ligertwood song isn’t the major highlight of the album. It’s a song by Jill McCloghry titled “We the Redeemed”. The powerful worship anthem will most likely be a congregation favorite for years to come. And there’s plenty more on the album for worship leaders to use with their respective teams. Be sure to check out: “The First and The Last”, “For Your Name”, “Yahweh” and “The Wonder of Your Love”
It’s also great to hear Darlene Zschech’s lovely voice again on “The Wonder of Your Love”. No longer the main worship pastor at Hillsong Church, Zschech has taken a lesser role on recent Hillsong recordings. Even so, there’s no replacing that remarkable voice of hers which will be forever linked as part of that classic “hillsong sound”.

RetroGrade: A

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Hillsong Live – Faith + Hope + Love
released: August 2009
recorded during the month of March 2009
label: Hillsong Music/Integrity

Tracklist:
1 The First and the Last (Houston, Morgan) 05:01
2 For Your Name (Gillies, Houston, Morgan) 03:55
3 Glow (Crocker, Houston) 04:57
4 It’s Your Love (Fieldes) 08:32
5 I Will Exalt You (Ligertwood) 07:42
6 Yahweh (Morgan) 07:17
7 No Reason to Hide (Crocker, Houston) 03:43
8 God One and Only (Douglass, Knock) 03:30
9 The Wonder of Your Love (Mooring, Mooring, Sampson) 04:57
10 His Glory Appears (Sampson, Zschech) 03:19
11 We the Redeemed (McCloghry) 07:31
12 We Will See Him (Fergusson, Morgan) 06:41
13 You Hold Me Now (Crocker, Morgan) 08:16

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Related posts:

1. Hillsong United Aftermath Concert Greensboro Coliseum August 2011
2. Hillsong – A Beautiful Exchange
3. Hillsong United – Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls
4. Hillsong Live – This is Our God – review
5. Love is the Answer

Filed under:
music, reviews by retroDan