Music Review: Devotion by Newsboys

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: A few enjoyable tracks
Cons: Overall, not the same passion as their first worship release
The Bottom Line:
It feels half hearted
Missing passion, joy of first
Similar styles




When Two is Too Much

I freely admit I am not the biggest Newsboys fan.  Not quite sure why, but outside their big hits, they've never fully appealed to me.  It's one reason why I was so surprised at how much I loved their first worship CD.  So when they followed it with Devotion, another worship CD, I rushed out to get it.  Unfortunately, it lands squarely in the middle of the road department.

For this disc, the Newsboys wrote most of their own material.  Seven of the ten tracks are originals.  So you'd expect that to make the disc stronger.  In my mind, it means they have no one to blame but themselves for the problems with it.

Let's start off with the biggest issue - style.  The Newsboys have always been a rock band.  Yes, sometimes they were softer rock than others.  But if you bought a Newsboys CD, you knew what you were getting.  Here, they seem to have forgotten that.  There are a couple of truly good rock moments, but for the most part, this disc is nothing but mid tempo that sounds the same song after song.  There are some okay lyrics in the mix, but I get lost trying to separate these songs from one another.

Their first worship CD also had several outstanding songs that grab me and make me want to sing along at the top of my lungs.  Here, the lyrics are just standard worship stuff.  They are fine, but there's nothing that excites me.  We've heard these sentiments time and time again.

As an example of what went wrong here, let's look at the only song I've heard done elsewhere, "Blessed Be Your Name."  Now let's be honest, I love the song.  It's a cover of a Matt Redman classic.  I've actually bought CD's looking for a good version of this song.  But the song is supposed to be upbeat the whole way through, not just on the chorus.  Here, it's slow, and that takes all the life out of it.  And there just doesn't seem to be any passion behind it, either.  Rebecca St. James duets with lead singer Peter Furler, and that's about the only interesting thing here.

The disc starts with "Devotion."  The title track is more upbeat than most of the disc and sounds like classic Newsboys, heavy on the guitar with Peter's distinctive vocals.  The idea of surrendering to God because of what He's done for us has been done before, but it's very adequately done here as well.

My favorite track, however, is "I Love Your Ways."  The hardest rocker on the disc (and it's a stretch to call it a true rocker), piano and guitar battle for dominance in the background as we are reminded all about what God has done for us.

But then the sameness hits.  "Presence (My Heart's Desire)," "Strong Tower," and "God of Nations" just don't stand out from each other.  They are all slower tempo rock songs that rely heavily on guitar.  Heck, the first two sound the same for the first few measures.  And I do mean the same.

Listening to a couple songs, I must admit I wonder what they are doing on a worship CD.  It's almost like the Newsboys weren't quite as excited about doing a second worship CD as they thought, but they'd signed the contract.  That "The Orphan," which combines images of Moses being hidden as a baby with struggles in our daily lives.  It's got an interesting melody and is keyboard driven, so it does stand out musically as well.  I like the song.  I'm just trying to determine what it is doing here.

The same can be said of "Landslide of Love."  Acoustic guitar comes out here as the band sings about the pain and misery that comes from living for self.  Even though we're still mid tempo, the change in style is enough to make it stand out from what has come before.  Again, great song I love, classic Newsboys, but what is it doing here?

The final two tracks are covers of Tim Hughes songs.  Since I don't follow the modern worship releases that closely, this is still the only reason I am familiar with the songs.  "Name Above All Names" is actually upbeat.  The lyrics are standard worship fair, however.  More interesting is the closer, "When the Tears Fall."  It's a slow, keyboard heavy track that promises praise even in the midst of trials.  Honestly, it's one of the most powerful songs on the disc.

There are several songs that I enjoy, but there are just as many songs that feel phoned in.  The result is a lack of devotion on my part to Devotion.

CD Length: 42:08

Tracks:

1. Devotion

2. I Love Your Ways

3. Presence (My Heart's Desire)

4. Strong Tower

5. God of Nations

6. Blessed be Your Name

7. The Orphan

8. Landslide of Love

9. Name Above All Names

10. When the Tears Fall