Reviews
Home Worship 2 — 11 songs written by members of St Michael le Belfrey
Excited by Christian music? The musicians of St Michael le Belfrey have recently released a follow-up to their first collection, Home Worship (2002). St Michael’s is an Anglican evangelical church located near the Minster with high student attendance from both and University of York and York St John College.
With a name like Home Worship 2, I will admit, I was not expecting anything too exciting. All the songs were written and performed by members of the church and with this collection they have produced something wonderful. I challenge anyone not be uplifted after listening to these tracks. In touch with today’s trends, the musical style shows influences from current artists, creating a feeling of familiarity right from the first hearing. This CD can be played Loud, very Loud, and Loud it feels good. Also, it can be played in the background without feeling intrusive.
Instrumentally and lyrically they have achieved everything expected of Christian worship music. With these recordings, they capture much of the worship feeling at St Michael’s. Whilst the backing vocals and musical performance are outstanding, the lead vocals occasionally lack strength (but only if compared to professional standards).
Lyrics for all but the last track are included on the insert if you feel like joining in or reflecting on the lines. As a bonus, for each song, notes are included about the spiritual motivations behind them and also details about the writing process.
Several tracks deserve comment. ‘You have shown to us the way’, talks about Christian unity, the unified church and the messages of St John’s gospel, which is so relevant to the recent Christian unity week. ‘The image of the unseen God’, is a Christmas song and interesting — being somewhat different to the generic offerings. In only three verses, Joel Payne has expressed a surprising number of scriptural principles. The final track, ‘Come and praise Him’, is more experimental as we are taken through a playful sequence of rhythm and instrumentation. The lyrics are repeated and interleaved and sung as a round.
On the insert of Home Worship Joel Payne, Musical Co-ordinator for St Michael le Belfrey, writes, “I hope we’ll do this again soon.” They have done it again, and have come a long way from those first live recordings made back in November 2001.
Home Worship 2 is available from St Michael le Belfrey (bookstall or church office), for £6.50. Contact: music@st-michael-le-belfrey.org or www.st-michael-le-belfrey.org.