Published April 20th, 2006 by Holger
Hillsong United - United We Stand
I must admit that while I like some of Hillsong United’s songs, their CDs have usually left me with the uneasy feeling that something was missing and when they led worship at Soul Survivor last year, they didn’t manage to capture me the way that some of the other worship leaders did. Having said that, I think that “United We Stand” is the best recording they’ve ever produced.
Actually, I need to go further than that - it’s the best worship CD I have bought in a very, very long time… and I have bought a lot. What can I say, it’s just perfect. The moment I popped it into the CD player for the first time (in the car, in England, on the way over to a friend’s house), I was hooked. The two minute instrumental intro that seamlessly blends into the first song “The time has come”… and then it just never stops. 75 minutes of pure perfection, each song leading to the next, with occasional instrumental interludes. It all makes sense, the songs lead to each other both musically and lyrically. And as always with Hillsong songs, they are incredibly easy to learn, so even when listening to the CD for the first time, I found myself singing along after having heard the first half of the song. I really like how they manage to keep the songs simple, but don’t compromise on depth.
If I had to pick a favorite song, that would be a hard decision to make. “From the inside out” is one of the candidates, I had heard that one before on the acoustic “preview” CD that Hillsong releases three times a year and it’s a captivating song that immediately made it to the top of my “songs I sing in the shower” list. But there are so many others as well… I have to mention “The stand”, simply because we sang the chorus last year at Soul Survivor and now it’s a finished song that surprises me again and again. And “Take it all” - high powered, edgy, with those trademark sing-along lyrics - “… Jesus, we’re living for Your name, we’ll never be ashamed of You!”
Hillsong United: United We Stand, 15 Tracks, 75 minutes playing time, plus a 30 minute bonus DVD… money well spent.
