Blessed Be Your Name: The Songs Of Matt Redman Vol (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Matt Redman (vocals, acoustic guitar); John Ellis (electric guitar); Nathan Nockels (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Andrew Phillip (keyboards); Jonathan Ahrens (bass instrument); Matt King, Terl Bryant, David Raven (drums, percussion); Christy Nockels (background vocals).

At a time when newcomers and opportunists were milking the modern worship movement for all its worth, praise pioneer Matt Redman, always ahead of the curve, celebrated the release of his first retrospective, BLESSED BE YOUR NAME: THE SONGS OF MATT REDMAN, VOL. 1. Precocious as he is, Redman didn't just slap together an anthology and call it a day, instead, taking the time to handpick the most representative landmarks from his oeuvre and recasting them in a new light the best way he knows how: in front of a live worship crowd. Like a good church-bred musician, Redman is at ease in this setting--perhaps more so than he ever was in a recording studio--so it follows that he is able to completely rethink signature songs like "The Heart of Worship" and "Let My Words Be Few" and still keep them memorable. He also seems aware that a few extra beats-per-minute go a long way, as songs that once were slow to take off, like "Once Again" and "Better Is One Day," sound livelier than ever here. In a move that may make modern worship aficionados smile, Redman calls on Charlie Hall and Christy Nockels to lead on "Better Is One Day." Blessed Be Your Name: BLESSED BE YOUR NAME: THE SONGS OF MATT REDMAN, VOL. 1. isn't just a best-of from one of the early architects of modern worship, it's some of the best this genre has to offer, period. minimize