Carstairs Considers....: Music Review: Offerings II

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Music Review: Offerings II - All I Have to Give by Third Day

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: More good worship songs
Cons: A couple weak songs, overbearing live audience
The Bottom Line:
Worship fans will love
Mix of studio and live
With focus on God

More Worship from Third Day

It's been a well known fact that the number one rule of movies is "If it makes money, make a sequel." Many Christian artists applied that to worship CDs as well, when the worship craze hit the Christian music market in the early part of the decade. And that's how we get Offerings II: All I Have to Give. Released in 2003, it is a follow up to Third Day's mega hit Offerings.

Third Day followed another cliched rule, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And so once again we get a mix of new songs recorded in the studio and older classics recorded before a live audience.

The disc starts out on the strong note with "Sing a Song." With it's strong beat, this mid tempo song is definitely a rocker. The lyrics aren't especially deep as the chorus reflects on reasons to praise God. We've heard them before, but it's a fun way to open the disc.

Unfortunately, the next couple of tracks aren't as strong. Once again, Third Day is covering a song from Waterdeep. "You are So Good to Me" just feels like a weak song. That's partially because I'm not a fan of songs with repeated lyrics, and this song gets repetitive. The strong electric guitar certainly is enjoyable to listen to. But it just doesn't keep my interest all the way through.

The first live track is "Creed," a cover of a Rich Mullins classic. Now I will freely admit this has never been one of my favorite Rich Mullins songs. But Third Day's version does nothing to change my mind. It was never meant for screaming electric guitar because it's not a rock song. Once lead singer Mac Powell gets around to singing, it does get better, but the incredibly long intro doesn't fit the song at all.

Third Day finally got around to recording a song called "Offering" on this disc. It's a slower ballad that builds from a piano opening to include guitar and drums. I really do love this song of dedication, promising "All I Have" even if it is less than others can give.

I must admit I'm not the biggest Third Day fan, so one reason I liked these discs is because it gave me a chance to get some of their biggest hits on a disc I would actually listen to. Such is the case with "Show Me Your Glory." This song had first appeared on a studio disc done between the two Offering discs. This is a slightly more acoustic version (but only slightly) of their hit asking for more of God's presence in our daily lives.

"Nothing Compares" is another great live worship song. The strong guitar is the key feature of this song that reminds us that God is the only thing worth knowing in this life. From there, we head back to the studio for the fun "Anything" that reminds us that we can't do anything apart from God.

Mac Powell was part of a little CD called City on a Hill and recorded a little song for it called "God of Wonders." The song is still a huge hit of modern praise services. This version was recorded completely by the guys of Third Day. Well, almost. Michael Tait does make a guest appearance on this live track. I absolutely love this song, but then again, I am drawn to songs that remind us of just how powerful God is.

But as long as I'm here, I am going to complain about a "feature" of many of the live tracks on this CD, the audience. Okay, don't get me wrong, I know some of the charm of a live recording is hearing the audience clapping and cheering. However, the audience for several of these songs seems to think they need to keep it up for the entire song. I'd have loved it if they were singing along, but no, they are cheering. Frankly, I find it a little distracting. This is especially true on "God of Wonders." At moments when the music gets quiet, the audience is a total distraction. It's not as bad on all the live tracks, but it is enough to drive me crazy.

Speaking of being quiet, "May Your Wonders Never Cease" starts very quiet with just Mac's vocals and an electric guitar. But things definitely build as the song progresses both in volume and intensity. It's a prayer for God to never give up on us. Fortunately, He has already promised exactly that.

"The Everlasting" celebrates God's eternality and His incredible power. You guessed it, again the theme draws me to this song. It stays fairly quiet although the electric guitar won't let you forget we are listening to a rock band.

The subtitle of this disc shows up as part of the "Medley." This live track incorporates parts of "Give," the hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus," the bridge of U2's "With or Without You," and "Your Love Oh Lord." As you might expect, the track lasts over seven and a half minutes. I probably never would have thought about including these songs together in one track, but I have to say it works extremely well.

The disc closes out with "Take My Life," a song from their self-title debut. Mac asks the audience to sing along with them on this track, and it works quite well. It's an amazing song of surrender as they sing "Please take from me my life/When I don't have the strength/To give it away to You, Jesus." The track itself is a quieter guitar based song. You can definitely hear the audience singing along. Despite my rant from earlier, I definitely don't mind it here at all.

I enjoy most of these songs, and they work well here together. I'm even able to filter out the audience noise most of the time and worship along with the lyrics. If you want a good worship disc, you won't go wrong with Offerings II: All I Have to Give.

CD Length: 59:24

Tracks:

1. Sing a Song

2. You are So Good to Me

3. Creed

4. Offering

5. Show Me Your Glory

6. Nothing Compares

7. Anything

8. God of Wonders

9. May Your Wonders Never Cease

10. The Everlasting