Journal
Matt Redman - Facedown
Posted on November 11th, 2004, in the evening
Matt Redman’s latest offering 'Facedown' (Buy from Amazon.co.uk) has been out for a few months now, and continues his fine tradition of pushing the boundaries of mainstream worship music with every recording.
Facedown is Matt’s first live album of new material (recorded at a songwriters gathering in the USA), the fantastic result being that hints of his humble and prophetic worship leading are on show without losing anything of the usual production quality.
As with ‘Where angels fear to tread’ two years ago you find yourself struck at first by the innovation in some of the arrangements. This is another step beyond the familiar Sunday-morning worship band sound.
The arrangements are great, but it’s the lyrics that really mark ‘Facedown’ out as special. Matt’s lyrics go deeper with every album, and this is another real leap. There are some beautiful moments that captivate over repeat listens. A good example being “Your cross speaks a better word / Than all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth” from ‘Nothing but the Blood’, the album’s anthem: rich cross-centred verses and a chorus based on Robert Lowry’s 1876 hymn of the same name.
Perhaps reflecting the ‘facedown’ theme, there are plenty of slower awesome, reverent songs. ‘Worthy you are worthy’ is among them, and the quality is high throughout. Some of the richest lyrics are in these slower songs; ‘Breathing the breath’ was for me a truly revelatory meditation on God’s provision.
If there’s one negative it’s that there are only two up-tempo songs, and although both are good (the bass driven ‘Dancing Generation’ is definitely one of the stand-out tracks), there’s no ‘Let everything that has breath’ or ‘Take the world but give me Jesus’.
Facedown is an excellent album, perhaps not surpassing ‘The Father’s Song’ for sheer exceptional overall quality, but excellent nonetheless. It’s a deeper album than anything Matt has done before, and certainly more so than much I’ve come across recently. There’s a heart of prayer and discipleship beating from start to finish; these songs are glimpses from a wealth of hidden devotion.
Review written for The Catford Planet, 14th Nov 2004
