| I have to confess, I was a little sceptical when this release arrived. I like Matt Redman, and there is no denying that he has written some of the classic worship songs of our time, however, I figured that everyone has the originals somewhere or other by now and didn't need a new collection. Then I noticed the big sticker '12 Brand new recordings live in Atlanta' well, now that changes everything.
An artist who instead of just compiling old tracks from their CD's and selling on, has recorded their best of live bringing together some of the most memorable worship songs from across the past decade. So, where with some best of releases you get a rough hotch-potch of things you already have, with Blessed be Your Name, you get completley new and live recordings. Making it great value even if you already have all of Matt's albums. The songs have been selected very well, from the many he has written and it really lives up to its billing as his best, with the title track 'Blessed be Your Name' being his most recent classic, to the renowned 'Heart of Worship' and 'Let Everything that has breath'. Some gems that you may have forgotten, such as 'Lord let Your Glory fall' and 'Once Again'. Being all recorded at the same time gives the album a very good flow and none stand out as any older than the others, despite the fact that they span such a long period of time. Matt is an artist who has remained at the top of his genre for quite sometime now and this CD demonstrates why.
The CD is also enhanced with a music video of 'Heart of Worship' and video interview with Matt, aswell as weblinks. This is a really good worship album, and if you're a fan of Matt, or indeed of any of the genre, such as Passion or Chris Tomlin, then this CD is an absolute must have, a retrospective that feels brand new. |
