Newsboys released their debut album READ ALL ABOUT IT in
1988. They have released two worship
albums-2003’s ADORATION and 2004’s DEVOTION.
Fast forward to 2014 and they released their first hymns project
HALLELUJAH FOR THE CROSS (First Company Management/Capitol Christian
Distribution). Seth Mosley produced
it. Lead singer Michael Tait shares:
“Hymns are important to me. We picked
through songs that went way, way back into my past and my dad’s Baptist
church. I love modern worship but I just
love that old stuff because they were written in such desperate and perilous
times, and out of great pain comes great resolve, I think”.
‘All Creatures of our God and King’ has a happy feel to it
musically and extols God unashamedly: “Let all things their Creator bless/And
worship Him in humbleness/O praise Him! Alleluia!/Praise, praise the Father,
praise the Son/And praise the Spirit, Three in One/O praise Him! O praise
Him!/Alleluia! (3X)/Hands go up, heaven come down/Givin’ Him praise is the only
sound”. A more energetic pop version of
‘Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus’ than that which appeared on the
group’s 1992 album NOT ASHAMED, follows.
It includes these words of testimony: “I was used to the cold for so long/That
I couldn’t feel anything/And I shivered and stared like a beggar/Who won’t lift
his hands/I was numb until You touched me/I was deaf until He heard/I was
senseless ‘til I met the One/Who understands”.
‘His Eye is on the Sparrow’ was penned by Civilla D. Martin
and Charles H. Gabriel in 1905. It is a
song that places full confidence in God: “And I sing because I’m happy, and I
sing because I’m free/Oh, His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches
me/’Let not your heart be troubled’, His tender word I hear/And resting on His
goodness, I lose my doubts and fears”.
The title track ‘Hallelujah for the Cross’ was written by Ross King and
Todd Wright in 2013. This powerful
modern worship anthem zeros in on the atonement: “Up to the hill of Calvary/My
Savior went courageously/And there He bled and died for me/Hallelujah for the
cross/And on that day the world was changed/A final, perfect Lamb was slain/Let
earth and heaven now proclaim/Hallelujah for the cross”.
‘It is Well’ is one of my wife’s all-time favorite
hymns. This version has a pulsating
dance beat to it, which works quite well.
It looks ahead to Jesus’ return to earth: “And Lord, haste the day when
my faith shall be sight/The clouds be rolled back as a scroll/The trump shall
resound, and the Lord shall descend/Even so, it is well with my soul”. ‘Jesus Paid it All’ shares the Gospel
message: “Jesus paid it all/All to Him I owe/Sin had left a crimson stain/He
washed it white as snow.../Oh, praise the One who paid my debt/And raised this
life up from the dead”.
‘I Surrender All’ is reverent and has been used at many an
altar call over the years: “All to Jesus I surrender/Humbly at His feet I
bow/Worldly pleasures all forsaken/Take me, Jesus, take me now.../All to Jesus
I surrender/Make me Savior, wholly Thine/Fill me with Thy love and power/Truly
know that Thou art mine”. ‘What a Friend
we Have in Jesus’ is given an atmospheric light pop treatment. It urges us to take our trials and concerns
to God and lay our burdens down at His feet: “What a friend we have in
Jesus/All our sins and griefs to bear/What a privilege to carry/Everything to
God in prayer/Oh, what peace we often forfeit/Oh, what needless pain we
bear/All because we do not carry/Everything to God in prayer”.
Dianne Sheets provides additional background vocals on
‘Holy, Holy, Holy’. It is a beautiful
song of praise: “Holy, holy, holy!/Lord, God Almighty/Early in the morning my
song shall rise to Thee/Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty/God in three
Persons, blessed Trinity/Holy, holy, holy!/All the saints adore Thee/Casting
down their golden crowns around the glassy sea”. ‘All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name’ is an
effective, mostly acappella song. It
appropriately treats Jesus as royalty: “Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race/Ye
ransomed from the fall/Hail Him who saves you by His grace/And crown Him Lord
of all!/.../Let every kindred, every tribe/On this terrestrial ball/To Him all
majesty ascribe/And crown Him Lord of all!”
In the liner notes Newsboys note: “The writers of many of
these majestic pieces wrote them during very painful, trying times of distress
but Redeemed places”. Newsboys are:
Michael Tait, Duncan Phillips, Jody Davis, and Jeff Frankenstein. On this album, the vocalists are: Michael
Tait, Jody Davis, Ben Backus, and Seth Mosley.
This album runs 36 minutes and 18 seconds. Newsboys don’t toy too much with the melodies
of these sacred songs. Any lyrical
additions are minor and don’t seem out of place, in fact, sometimes they
strengthen the original words. In many
ways, this is a modern worship album with lyrics from a past era. All praise and glory is given to God on this
project. I’m rating HALLELUJAH FOR THE
CROSS 85%. For more info visit: www.newsboys.com.