Every now and again an album comes out of nowhere. It's by someone
you've never heard of, so you have no expectations. Such is
Steve
Mitchinson's release of
War Of Love I've begun this review a hundred
times in my mind and I'm going to go with "this album is,
unequivocally, the best album I have heard in many years". Musically,
lyrically, and theologically, this album is hits the mark on so many
levels.
Steve Mitchinson currently lives in Canada, but is from
the UK bunch of Vineyard worship leaders that got international
exposure in the late 90's: Brenton Brown, Kathryn Scott, etc...
Mitchinson co-wrote (with
Brian Doerksen) the song
Holy Fire on the
Come, Now is the Time project. He continues to write with Brian,
including six songs on this new CD. For those who don't know, Brian
Doerksen is legendary in his pursuit of great lyric writing, and his
influence shows on
War of Love. The unique title points to the
radical middle ground between these two, seemingly mutually exclusive,
concepts.
Each song is, by itself, a classic. There is no fluff
here, no throw-away filler. Having said that, I do have my favorites. I
cannot stop playing
Come, Son of David. This is the kind of song that
can begin a worship set. It's got a chunking guitar strum to start and
it builds into the perfect chorus, with a vocal tag at the end. The
song talks about a storm on the horizon, the winds of God stirring the
seas of time. The second verse is so graphic: "This calm we see is not
reality. How darkness blinds the hearts of man. Temptation draws us
into vanity, when will the King of Glory come?"
I also cannot
get enough of
Arise. This is simply scripture put to music, using
Song of Solomon. Brian Doerksen sings the lead, with Sharon Heap
singing a response. This is another song that just seems to make all
the right musical choices, with a layer of keyboards, wah-wah electric
guitars, and even horns. This is the kind of song that can be sung to
the congregation, and I can personally attest to its power to minister.
The
first track on the album is
Answer the Call and it is, again,
excellent in all respects. Mitchinson really brings a lot of theology
regarding God's Kingdom; His authority to rule and power to do so.
Jesus set the table, ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit,
proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was near and then healing the sick
and freeing the captives. This song speaks to our charge to carry that
on, no matter the cost. "Though we may fall, we must answer the call".
This will be a church anthem and rally cry.
Fortress 144 is
from the psalm of the same number. Here is a song that will test the
posture of many a church that is trying to operate in some kind of
cultural correctness. "All praise to You my rock, who trains my hands
for war". For those who reject this inspiration for being too
militaristic, fear not, as you balance this with Ephesians 6:12.
Acknowledging our sworn enemy is the only clear path to peace through
victory, and this song sings to our stronghold and fortress.
Another
song that's classic Vineyard is
It's Time for the Reign of God. God's
reign has come and is coming and it's time. "We proclaim the mighty
word of God, the power in Your name".
I could go on and on.
Folks, I am not kidding you, this album is that good. Frankly, I have
grown a little weary over the past few years of the same type of songs
coming out on every album. Everyone has started to sound the same. This
album is such a breath of fresh air. It's not the youth band that is
reaching out to the younger crowd. It's not huge choirs and big
ensembles. This is just some very competent musicians getting together
to record a great collection of songs. I wish I could just give you all
a copy of this... but I can't, so you'll have to buy it. But, you won't
be sorry.
I would be remiss if I didn't add that Mitchinson
sings with a host of others on the album: Brenton Brown, Kathryn Scott,
Jeff Deyo, Teresa Trask, Sharon Heap and Stephanie Lang. Philip Janz
is the producer.
Review by John Ausmus,
worshipmusic.com