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Beautiful News

Matt Redman | December 26th, 2006

Worship music has been on the forefront of Christian music the last few years, seeing an explosion in retail sales and new artists releasing music under the worship moniker. Matt Redman is one of the few artists who was writing worship music before worship music was “cool.” That being said, the writer of such stand out songs as “The Heart of Worship,” “Better Is One Day,” and “Blessed Be Your Name” never found much commercial success. Having already seen great success in worship gatherings and the like, Matt Redman has written a batch of songs to conquer the airwaves with his latest, Beautiful News.

The disc begins with the title track “Beautiful News.” The song gives the impression that Matt Redman has been taking some cues from buddy Chris Tomlin on writing pop-worship tunes. The next two tracks are probably the two significant highlights of the album, “You Never Let Go” (which has previously been featured on the Passion: Everything Glorious CD) and “Shine.” Both songs are what Matt Redman fans seem to be looking for and are poised to make an impact at radio across America.

From here on out, most tracks fall under the pick and choose category. “Take It to the Streets” has Brit-pop written all over it, but seems to lack any depth. “Yes and Amen” isn't a musically interesting song but its message is one about living in accordance with God's Will, Yes and amen to everything that's in Your heart / Yes and amen to everything that You have planned. “Blessing” and “All Over the World” are tracks that seem to be aimed for radio readiness but lack depth or emotion in their delivery.

As far as songs you may hear in church some day, “A Greater Song” and “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” seem to fit the bill pretty well. It would have been great to hear more songs like these on Redman's release but none are present. Many of Redman's songs sound overproduced and clichß as far as the worship genre is concerned. Worship leaders will probably be able to come to this CD and pick songs for congregational worship, but the recordings lack sincerity and transparency in a number of places. This is not a plague of the entire album but does present itself in various places.

The tracks where Redman's craft shines the most brilliantly are on the simple songs such as “Shine,” “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made,” and “When All Is Said and Done.” There are a few diamonds in the rough here, and it stands as a decent worship album. Beautiful News offers some glimpses into why Matt Redman has played such an influential role in making worship music what it is today.

Reviewed by Jarrod Steinmetz on March 7th, 2008

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