Review

Anytime you undertake to rearrange a traditional hymn you are going to wow some people and at the same time, not be able to please everyones taste in what a hymn should be. Songs that have stood the test of time and endured for generations obviously can and have stood on their own. Unfortunately, many of the hymns are relegated to churches where the median age is 60 and above. This is truly sad because the message and poetry of many of the hymns is timeless and can still speak to current and upcoming generations. The challenge is updating the arrangements to a style that will reach the modern listener while maintaining the integrity and feel of these wonderful songs.

Tony Guerrero has done a phenomenal job in bringing new life to twenty-five magnificent old hymns on a two-CD collection entitled, Top 25 Hymns For Today. I first became aware of Tony at a worship conference and festival at Saddleback Church some years ago. He is a very gifted instrumentalist who has been involved in the music industry on the West Coast for a long time. He brings a great sensitivity to the musicality and production of this project. I have also attended a number of the seminars that he presented at the conferences for the past few years and his love for Jesus and his love for the church are very evident. Tony and the team of talented musicians and vocalists have given us a really nice interpretation of these hymns.

This project kicks off with a very bouncy and in-the-pocket feel with the hymn, What Wondrous Love Is This. Tim Timmons lends his vocal styling to this song which really fits it well. The arrangement brings new life and passion to the message of the overwhelming love of God. The next track is How Great Thou Art, which in almost every arrangement I have ever heard, comes off as a stately anthem. It has been re-tooled a bit, to have a rock feel akin to a U2 arrangement. It becomes a very straight ahead punchy song with a lot of energy. They also employ a cool little turn around in the middle of the chorus using a vii chord to a v chord to a vii chord back to the i chord, which definitely adds some new interest to the hymn.

Personally I struggled a bit with track number five, My Jesus, I Love Thee. The arrangement has replaced the major key with a relative minor, which for me, takes away a bit from the celebration and joyous feeling of the song. However, the next track makes up for that, at least with me. Track six, This Is My Fathers World is a very simple arrangement with the voice of Jadon Lavik accompanied by a beautifully played acoustic guitar. I had never heard this hymn before and it is so powerful in the simplicity of the way that it has been put together. This is one that I hit the repeat button on numerous times every time I play the CD.

Another gem on the first disk is a wonderful, ethereal arrangement of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. This song is set to an infectious rhythm played on the toms on the drum kit and sung by Lindsey Wallace. Yet another hymn on disc one that I really enjoyed was Great Is Thy Faithfulness. The arrangement again is one of simplicity with just an acoustic guitar and acoustic piano. In my opinion this allows the strength of the lyrics to really stand out without being buried by the usual overly huge orchestral arrangements that are typically associated with this hymn.

The second disc kicks off with a version of I Surrender All that has a very percussive feel. The two vocalists singing the melody and harmony line really have a great blend which also gives the song a lot of energy. This is an arrangement that truly gives the very simple melody a great flowing feeling. O Come Let Us Adore Him also finds some new life with an electric guitar driven arrangement, which definitely takes it out of the Christmas category. A little added refrain of You are worthy has been added and when repeated to God in the first person definitely worships Him. Lyndsey Wallace sings an exuberant version of All Creatures of Our God and King. This song set in a 6/8 feel has a section at the end where the arrangement breaks down to vocals and a march feel on the snare drum, which helps it just soar.

Another track that caught my attention is the very clever arrangement of I Need Thee Every Hour, which rides on the foundation of a djembe and a slide guitar in drop D tuning. It has just a hint of a delta blues vibe running through it, but that feel doesnt drown the integrity of the old hymn. It is definitely one of the coolest arrangements on the entire project. It also doesnt hurt that one of my all time favorite hymns is also covered so well. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing is married to an arrangement that works really effectively to carry it along.

One of the things that impress me most is the various musical styles that have been incorporated into the different arrangements. Often times when this is done, you end up getting some cheesy arrangements of songs, because it seems as though there needs to be a song that has an old-time-Appalachian-mountain feel to complete the disc. I am thrilled to say that many musical styles have been employed in these arrangements and none of them come off as cheesy. There has been some diligence expended to work the arrangements so that the musical style supports and augments the message of these great old hymns. If you cant tell it by now, I will shamelessly recommend this CD for your collection. In a time when so many new worship songs are coming out, it is also refreshing to know that there are ways that we can incorporate some of these great older worship songs, back into our repertoire for weekend services. You will definitely be able to use a number of these arrangements to add some life to your worship sets.

Review by Bryan Bloom