from: cmcentral.com
author: Robin Parrish
website: http://www.cmcentral.com

»» Newsboys
Adoration: The Worship Album

There are some great songs on Adoration: The Worship Album. Unfortunately, there aren't enough of them.

Originals like "He Reigns," "Great Is Your Faithfulness," "Father, Blessed Father," and "Hallelujah" are all fantastic, very much in the vein of the music heard on Thrive, and all very well written and performed. Producer Steve Taylor once again brings his unique touch to the project, bringing out the very best in the Newsboys.

But the remaining tracks are completely unnecessary rehashes of contemporary classics like "You Are My King" and "In Christ Alone," or live versions of tracks from Thrive, such as "Lord (I Don't Know)" and "It Is You." Even Third Day, with its Offerings projects, manages to shake things up with rearranged live versions of existing songs. But these two live tracks on Adoration are nearly indistinguishable from the studio versions. (In fact, if you've got the Live at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame DVD, you've already heard them -- they're just audio versions of the very same live arrangements.)

The original songs are good enough to merit Newsboys creating their own worship album -- showing that these guys have more than enough talent to carry it off without a hitch. But instead of following through, they take the easy way out by filling the rest of the album with unoriginal, uninspired retreads. What could have been a worthwhile, intriguing new modern worship album (with a distinctly Aussie twist) instead comes across (albeit unintended) as just another band selling out to the praise & worship trend.

We all know Newsboys are capable of better than this. So why should we accept it when they put forth such a half-hearted effort?

Robin's rating: 59 %

--Robin Parrish ««