Music Review: Worship Again by Michael W. Smith

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Mostly good selection of worship music

Cons: A few tracks in the middle that miss the mark

The Bottom Line:

The middle does drag

But the rest are solid songs

Enjoyable disc

Michael W. Smith's Leads Us in Worship Again

After the smash success of his 2001 release Worship, Michael W. Smith headed back to the worship bandwagon a second time.  The result was the 2002 release Worship Again.  (Gee, highly original title there, Smitty.)  The unfortunate title aside, this isn't quite up to the original, but it is another solid release of worship music.

This release follows the formula set in the original.  11 of the 14 tracks were recorded with a live audience with the final three tracks being studio recordings.  While the first disc did have all star talent in the band and choir, this time the only name you'd recognize is Michael himself.  That doesn't mean they are any less enjoyable to listen to.

This time around, Michael contributes several songs he has written himself or co-written with his wife Debbie.  Since they've have written some worship classics over the years, that's a good thing.  In fact, the disc starts off with two of those tracks.  The opener combines the original "Forever We Will Sing" with Rich Mullins' classic "Step by Step."  Okay, so maybe that's a bit of an overstatement.  In reality, "Forever We Will Sing" is more of a tag to the familiar chorus.  Either way, it's a good opener that clearly gets the crowd singing along.

"You are the Lord" is another of the original songs.  This one is a simple song reminding us of how great our God is of our praise.  It's good, and the prominent violin really adds to the song.

The third track contains another cover, this time of a relatively new song.  Chris Tomlin's take on the classic hymn "The Wonderful Cross" was only two years old at the time.  I've loved this song since the first time I heard it, and this isn't an exception.  Words wise, it only adds a chorus to the traditional lyrics praising God for our salvation.  The beat is a little faster than normal.  Here, Michael's piano playing and the driving drums make for a, well, wonderful combination.

It's in the next section where I lose a little interest in this disc.  "Ancient Words" has some pretty piano and violin, but the words are a little flat to me.  I've got no problem focusing on the power of the Bible, but this just doesn't do it for me.  "Lord Have Mercy" features Sarah McIntosh as the female soloist on the second verse.  I love the verses here as they talk about repenting after wandering away from God, but the chorus is too repetitive and kills the song for me.  The instrumental "The Sacred Romance" is a beautiful piano and violin duet.  It leads seamlessly into "I Can Hear Your Voice," another original track by Michael and Debbie Smith.  This song seems more like a song that should be on one of his regular discs instead of a worship CD.  It's got a haunting melody, but it's not exactly sing along material.

Things pick up from here on out.  There are covers of modern classics "I Give You My Heart" and "There is None Like You."  You can really hear the audience come back on these tracks.  Piano is still providing the backbone of the music, although the violin appears in the first one.

He covers another Rich Mullins' classic next.  I love "I See You," so I'm glad to get another version of it.  Michael sings the first lines, and the choir and congregation echo him.  It starts out with just piano, but it adds guitar and drums as it builds the tempo.  The track is quite long at almost seven minutes, but a nice instrumental bridge keeps the song from falling into the repetitive lyrics syndrome.

The final live track is "You are Holy (Prince of Peace)."  This time, Michael has the guys sing with him and the ladies echo.  It's a nice upbeat way to end things.

The disc finishes up with the three studio tracks.  As with the original, one of them is a studio version of a song that was recorded live.  "Lord Have Mercy" was chosen.  And maybe having it twice on here is one reason I'm not as big a fan of it.  About the only real chance between the two versions is that Amy Grant does the solo on the second verse.  It's still heavy on the piano and violin.  The next studio cut is "Here I Am to Worship."  Michael does a good piano based cover of this modern classic.

The final track is deemed as a bonus track because it really doesn't fit in here.  Tapping in on the patriotism felt in those first few months after September 11th, "There She Stands" is actually a song about American flag and how it has stood strong in the face of adversity.  It's a good ballad that pulls in strings to really stir up the patriotic feelings.  I'm a little surprised it hasn't shown up other places.  Maybe it just got buried on this disc of worship music.

The first worship disc Michael W. Smith did was pretty much perfect.  Worship Again is good, but it just doesn't recapture that magic feeling.  Fans of Michael or worship music will certainly still want it, but it won't appeal as much to the casual fan.

CD Length: 1:04:11

Tracks:

1. Step by Step/Forever We Will Sing

2. You are the Lord

3. The Wonderful Cross

4. Ancient Words

5. Lord Have Mercy

6. The Sacred Romance (Instrumental)

7. I Can Hear Your Voice

8. I Give You My Heart

9. There is None Like You

10. I See You

11. You are Holy (Prince of Peace)

12. Lord Have Mercy (Studio Cut)

13. Here I Am to Worship

14. There She Stands