Music Review: Carried Me - The Worship Project by Jeremy Camp

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Proof that you can worship with rock

Cons: Title track; songs can blend together

The Bottom Line:

Rock worship CD

Title track is the weakest

But the rest are good

You Will be Carried to a Place of Worship

In the last few years, worship projects have become the trend among Christian artists. Carried Me: The Worship Project, the second album from Jeremy Camp, perfectly fits the trend. And, like most of the entries in the genre, I love it.

The CD starts out with Jeremy's take on several familiar and not so familiar worship songs. In fact, it was one of those not so familiar songs that convinced me to buy the CD. I learned "Trust in You" back when I was in college and have used it to lead worship for years. I had never heard it recorded anywhere before, however, so I just had to get this disc to hear how it sounded. Jeremy's version is rockier then I do. (Of course, he's a rock artist and I just play acoustic guitar, but that's beside the point.) Truthfully, I love it. It's got strong drums and heavy electric guitar. I think I like it because he doesn't mess with the tempo I am familiar with. I was singing along before the songs ended.

From there, he does covers of several modern worship songs. Tim Hughes' "Beautiful One" is up next. The intro is slow, but the song itself is mid tempo. He uses the same driving guitar for "Enough." He does slow things down for Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman's "Wonderful Maker." Even so, the strong drums and guitar give it a modern rock feel.

Jeremy also does several new songs. "I Surrender to You" is a nice mid tempo track. In it, Jeremy marvels at all God means to him, and offers his life as the only response he has. "Empty Me" is a nice chorus that also focuses on surrender.

Jeremy had a hand in writing five of the songs on this disc. Fans of his debut will recognize "Walk by Faith" since it originally showed up there. This is definitely a new recording since it's slightly slower then the original. Honestly, I like this version better. If only the words were true in my life. The song is a commitment to walk by faith even during the trials of life, knowing God is working through all of it. To be honest, my faith is never that strong.

Another Jeremy Camp song is "Hear My Voice." It's a great modern praise song. A tad on the slow side for the disc, it still has a strong beat.

Definitely on the slow side is "Revive Me." While the notes don't say so, this sounds like a Psalm to me, with comparisons between him and the wicked. This song is just Jeremy and his guitar, which he plucks. I even think the harmony vocals on the chorus are Jeremy.

"Longing Heart" takes its cue from Romans 8. As that chapter ends, Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from God's love. This song says the same on the verses, and offers our response for the chorus. After all, how else can you respond to that kind of love but to cry out in longing for God?

The title track actually closes the disc. I'm still of two minds about it. I like the words, which thank God for carrying us through all the trials of life. However, it has only eight lines, and the song goes on for 4 minutes. It gets repetitive by the end. Then there's the music. It's got some weird mixing going on and has almost but not quite a discordant feel. As much as I like the rest of the disc, I've never learned to truly appreciate this one.

The other potential strike against the disc is the similarity of the songs. Most of them are light rock heavy on the drums and guitar with some keyboard in there as well. It can begin to sound the same if you listen to it too much in a row. But I do enjoy the style, so that's not a big factor for me.

At times, I am tempted to write off the artist lead worship projects as an effort to cash in on a popular trend. But every time I give one of them a chance, I am blown away by how much I enjoy it. And Carried Me: The Worship Project is a perfect example. I will continue to worship with this disc for many years to come.

CD Length: 50:52

Tracks:

1. Trust in You

2. Beautiful One

3. Enough

4. Wonderful Maker

5. Hear My Voice

6. I Wait for the Lord

7. Empty Me

8. I Surrender to You

9. Walk by Faith

10. Revive Me

11. You're Worthy of My Praise

12. Longing Heart

13. Carried Me