Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

JFH Music Review


Newsboys, Hallelujah For The Cross
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

Newsboys
Hallelujah For The Cross



Artist Info: Discography
Genre(s): Worship / Hymns / Pop
Album length: 10 tracks: 36 minutes, 14 seconds
Street Date: November 4, 2014


Newsboys 3.0 (you remember original lead singer John James don't you?) is humming right along. If the newest, Michael Tait-fronted version of this venerable band were courting the Christian music market, they have certainly hit all the marks strongly, and in a short period of time too. An album of new material with the new lead singer? Check. Worship album? Check. Live album featuring most of that worship album? Check. Christmas album or EP? Check. Second album and tour? Check. Hymns project?

Wait. Hymns project? That's not on the road map. What is this curio being offered up by the Newsboys one year after releasing their successful Restart album? Whose idea was this? Could it be a love letter to the songs Michael Tait grew up singing in his church? Would the Newsboys' bouncy sound translate to the great hymns of the faith and their relatively classical musical structure?

The answer is a surprising (but not resounding) yes. Most arrangements and marriages of modern sounds to classic melodies here slide together nicely, with a few notable exceptions.

St. Francis' beloved hymn to the creator God, "All Creatures Of Our God And King" kicks off the album, and it's immediately clear that the 'boys' found the right mix of reverence and creativity. The ending of the song is tagged with a nice bit of new chorus that adds to the overall effect of the message, yet treads lightly enough with the hymn's 500+ years of history.

Depending how you feel about classic Newsboys, song number two could either be an incidental update or a grave robbery. "Where You Belong / Turn Your Eyes" was a track on the early 90's album Not Ashamed (some might remember the video with the band walking along the beach and Jesus' name being written in the sand), and its update here is a bit faster and livelier than the older one, but the melodies and use of the old hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" remain solid and preserved.

"His Eye Is On The Sparrow" rocks a bit harder than the traditionally slower and sleepy hymn, but the words and melody are still impactful. The album's title track (and first single) is a new song written in the hymn tradition, but it's one of the best things here, swinging on a rich melody that captures the ears nicely and feels "older" than it is. The remaining lineup of hymns ("It Is Well," "Jesus Paid It All," "I Surrender All," "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "What A Friend We Have In Jesus") are each capably rendered and transformed. It's only "All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name" that is the odd man out here, with a snappy a cappella version that is spiffy, but dreadfully out of place.

Hymns are about as beloved a thing (and sacred cow) as exists in Christendom. Artists risk angering and alienating a portion of their audience with albums like this, but on Hallelujah For The Cross, it seems clear that Michael Tait and the other "boys" are singing and playing songs that they have loved for a long time, and the Newsboys capably and reverently update these classic songs and words for a new generation of worshipers.

- Review date: 11/3/14, written by Alex Caldwell of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Check out JFH's Lloyd in his first-ever childrens book!

 

. Record Label: First Company Management / Capitol CMG
. Album length: 10 tracks: 36 minutes, 14 seconds
. Street Date: November 4, 2014
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. All Creatures Of Our God and King (3:58)
  2. Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes (3:33)
  3. His Eye Is On The Sparrow (4:17)
  4. Hallelujah For The Cross (3:45)
  5. It Is Well (4:11)
  6. Jesus Paid It All (3:30)
  7. I Surrender All (3:22)
  8. What A Friend We Have In Jesus (2:59)
  9. Holy Holy Holy (4:14)
  10. All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name (2:31)

 



Leave a Comment

 

 

go to main Album review page
go to Album review archive

 


(JFH Sponsor Spot)

 

 

                 
Check out JFH's Lloyd in his first-ever childrens book!

Search JFH




This Tuesday, November 19, 2024
SINGLES
Mat Kearney Certainty - Single (independent)

This Wednesday, November 20, 2024
ALBUMS
1K Phew Let Go Let God: The EP [Reach]

SINGLES
Drew & Ellie Holcomb High Seas - Single [Magnolia]
Sleeping At Last Let It Snow - Single (independent)

This Thursday, November 21, 2024
ALBUMS
The Choir Translucent (independent)

SINGLES
Wilder Woods Curioso [Dualtone]

This Friday, November 22, 2024
ALBUMS
Coqui I'll Still Have Christmas Day - EP [DREAM]
for KING & COUNTRY A Drummer Boy Christmas (LIVE) [Curb]
Hope Through Grace John 20 EP [Southwest Hardcore]
The Kingsmen Decades: Vol. 3 & 4 [Horizon]
Kresher The Adventures of Sylas Spin EP (independent)
Jonathan McReynolds Red & Green - EP [Capitol CMG/Motown]
mewithoutYou Live (Vol. One) (independent)
NEEDTOBREATHE Acoustic Live Vol. 1 (CD Reissue) [Omnivore]
NEEDTOBREATHE Live From The Woods (CD Reissue) [Omnivore]
nobigdyl. nobigdyl. Unplugged, Vol. 1 [indie tribe]
Josiah Queen The Prodigal (Deluxe Edition) (independent)
R.kitect Vicious Circles - EP (independent)
Run51 Let's Celebrate - EP [DREAM]
Since The Death His Heart Hates - EP [The Charon Collective]
Van Zant Always Look Up [Frontiers Music]
Various Artists Sunshine Acres Benefit Compilation, Vol. 1 [Thumper Punk Records]
Various Artists Sunshine Acres Benefit Compilation, Vol. 2 [Thumper Punk Records]

SINGLES
7eventh Time Down I Speak Jesus - Single [BEC]
99 APEX Find A Way Freestyle - Single [Syntax]
Cory Asbury You're Still The One - Single [BEC]
Ashes Remain Lost Light - Single [BEC]
Paul Baloche Angels We Have Heard On High/Glorious (feat. Sarah Kroger) - Single [Integrity]
Paul Demer Let All Things Now Living - Single (independent)
Elan Brio Sun Rays - Single (independent)
ELEVATION RHYTHM At the Altar (Acoustic) - Single [Elevation]
Happy Powers Garden Song - Single (independent)
Sam Hauge Fame You Can Buy - Single (independent)
Hollyn & Weathrman Trees - Single (independent)
Amy Jay And So It Goes - Single (independent)
Jericko Holy Ground - Single [Syntax]
Reece Lache' Energy - Single (independent)
Vic Lucas Presha - Single [Syntax]
Memphis May Fire Shapeshifter - Single [Rise Records]
MŌRIAH Winter Wonderland - Single (independent)
The Myriad Time - Single (independent)
Cliff & Antoinette Murray O Emanuel - Single [DREAM]
Katy Nichole When I Fall - Single [Centricity]
Makenzie Phipps O Holy Night - Single (independent)
Procyse, Dave A. You’re Not Free - Single [Polished Arrow]
Ravenhill The Shakes - Single [Honey Gold Records]
River Valley Worship This is Our Jesus (feat. Moriah Christian) - Single [BEC]
Scapegoat Solace (feat. MajesticGhost) - Single (independent)
Seph Schlueter Stay (Gonna Be Okay) - Single [Provident]
Jordan Smith How Great Thou Art - Single [Gaither]
TKE3 Found (feat. Leya) - Single (independent)
Vineyard Worship Royal Son - Single [Integrity]

VINYL
NEEDTOBREATHE Acoustic Live Vol. 1 (Vinyl Reissue) [Omnivore]
NEEDTOBREATHE Live From The Woods (Vinyl Reissue) [Omnivore]

Next Thursday, November 28, 2024
VINYL
Van Zant Always Look Up Vinyl [Girder]

Next Friday, November 29, 2024
ALBUMS
Sixpence None the Richer Dawn of Grace (Deluxe) [Flatiron]
Thrive Worship Christmas, Vol. 2 - EP [Integrity]

SINGLES
ICF Worship Light of the World - Single [Integrity]
Selah Glory Hallelujah (feat. Mike Weaver) - Single [Integrity]
Slow Salvation The Ghost of Christmas Past - Single [Velvet Blue]
Uche Agu, Revival Today Worship Medley of Hymns - Single [DREAM]

VINYL
Sixpence None the Richer Dawn of Grace (Deluxe) Vinyl (Record Store Day Exclusive!) [Flatiron]



For all release dates, click here!
 



Check out the new album from Taylor Holland Armstrong!



Listen to the new Single from Second Adam and the New Creations!

Check out depositphotos for royalty free images