The Newsboys hinted at a modern worship style with the release of Thrive last year. In my review, I pointed out that "Furler's It is You qualifies as modern worship, as does Lord (I Don't Know), by Furler and Taylor." Not only have the Newsboys gone on to create an entire worship project, those two songs return on Adoration: The Worship Album as live tracks, a clever and legitimate way to utilize them on consecutive albums.
I've reviewed more than 50 CDs and DVDs in 2003, many of them in the modern worship genre--Adoration: The Worship Album certainly belongs in the top handful; in fact, I would group it with GKB's Blacktop and Glass Harp's Strings Attached as the first CDs I would grab if headed to the proverbial desert island. In a year of numerous quality worship projects, the Newsboys and Steve Taylor have produced a standout.
Apart from Billy James Foote's You Are My King (Amazing Love) and In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, Furler and Taylor wrote all of the songs. They did get a little high-powered collaboration on Take My Hands (Praises) as Martin Smith of Delirious? and Toby McKeehan of DC Talk/Toby Mac contributed. The sound is the Newsboys as we're used to hearing them, but the lyrics ensure that some of these songs will be song by church choirs before long.
Adoration carries more theological weight than some worship projects, mentioning doctrinal fundamentals such as the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ in multiple songs. There's nothing wrong with songs that cheerfully offer up praises, but we must be reminded of why we praise--Adoration does just that, all the while inspiring us to join in the praises. This CD is for Newsboys fans, modern worship fans, and any Christians who can handle an upbeat sound. I may even get a copy for my 65-year-old mother. Adoration might be the CD that finally turns her into a rocker (take that any way you want).
Visit: Newsboys and Sparrow Records.
