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WOW Worship (Purple)
(Various Artists)

Album length: 2 CDs, 30 tracks
Street Date: March 2, 2010

Anyone who grew up with Christian music knows the WOW Hits series. The best Christian music of the year in a double disk? Yes, please! The WOW Worship component was added to the WOW family in 1999. They were released every couple of years or so for a while, but now it's been a few years since the last offering in the series, which came out in 2006. Finally, March 2010 brings WOW Worship Purple. Was it worth the wait? And is anyone waiting?

Because there hasn't been a WOW Worship album released in the last four years, the compilers felt they could go back to 2006 and pick the most popular worship songs since that time. It's a good mix of the biggest names in worship music, spanning Hillsong United to Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman to David Crowder Band. There's also a nice variety between popular Christian bands who just recorded a single worship album to worship leaders and songwriters who are known for their worship music. I was pleased to see newer folks on the album, like Francesca Battistelli, and favorites such as Leeland and Charlie Hall. Of course, our good friend Chris Tomlin makes a nice showing on the album, with his voice taking center stage on two songs and other bands covering songs he either wrote or made famous.

There are no surprises on this album. On my own first listen-through, I knew 27 of the 30 songs, just from various church services and chapels. Again, it's a nice mix of the softer songs, such as "Desert Song" and "Lead Me to the Cross," to the uptempo "I am Free" and "Happy Day." But because most of these are common songs, almost all of which are on bands' own albums, the listener may have them already in their collections. This WOW compilation does not even seem to be a great place to find new bands, because most of the songs chosen are the most popular of the popular worship songs, which doesn't give a listener much of a taste of who the performers are as bands. Added to this is the fact the songs span the last four years. While I love "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)," I got the song five years ago with the Amazing Grace soundtrack and could have downloaded it multiple times from multiple releases since then, including Tomlin's own See the Morning. So is another option necessary? Compilations these days can be somewhat passé, with the ease of iTunes and $1.29 songs. It's not too difficult to find your favorite worship songs and make your own compilations.

I cannot say I know too many people who have been eagerly anticipating this release. Not because it is a bad album, or is not well thought out or represented, but just that it is not anything special. The songs are good, the singers are good, but what would make you buy this album instead of picking and choosing your favorites from a music downloading apparatus? Maybe the sticker price will entice you, and if you don't already own many of these songs from the last four years, go out and snatch this album up. Otherwise, carry on as you were, buying a track or two as you feel led.

- Review date: 3/18/10, written by Sara Kelm of Jesusfreakhideout.com

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