Passion: Hymns Ancient and Modern

While the modern worship movement has revolutionized Christian music, lead worshippers realized that in their zeal to write cutting-edge church music they forgot the songs that were cutting that "edge" once upon a time. Add some creative contemporary arrangements and electricity to the originals and you have the composite that makes up the Ancient and Modern Hymns collection. For those who caught Passion artists singing some of these timeless classics during the 2003 tour, you know how emotionally moving they are live. Producer Nathan Nockels keeps that in mind and does a great job of capturing the live essence recorded in Atlanta's North Point Community Church. Of course no Passion release can be without David Crowder and Chris Tomlin and both give us some special moments on Hymns, including Crowder's "Doxology" and the magnificent "All Creatures Of Our God and King." Tomlin's reworking of "O Worship The King" and the compelling "Take My Life" are not to be outdone. Nockels and wife Christy (known as Watermark) also provide one of the finer moments with the elegant beauty of "Praise To The Lord the Almighty." Matt Redman and Charlie Hall fill out the release with a solid but unremarkable quality. --Michael Lyttle