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The best of Stuart Townend live

Beating Time

TITLE: THE BEST OF STUART TOWNEND LIVE
ARTISTS: Stuart Townend & others
WEBSITE: http://www.stuarttownend.co.uk
PRICE: £10.00 to £15.00
FORMAT: 2 CDs (31 tracks, 2.3 hrs.)
STYLE: lively congregational

Well, it’s that time of year again, but I’m not going to review this year’s Best Christmas Album Ever. Instead, here’s a bargain idea for a gift with potential to benefit friends and family indefinitely.

For as little as a tenner you can get 31 of Stuart Townend’s best-published works. Whilst not every track hits the heights of ‘In Christ Alone’, ‘How Deep The Father’s Love’, ‘Oh To See The Dawn’, ‘See What A Morning’, and ‘My God’ (all of which are included), there are certainly no duds in this collection. Put simply, Mr. Townend consistently writes exceedingly good songs, and this is the biggest, best and least expensive collection of them yet.

Bonus

Another bonus is that this compilation is made up entirely of live (mostly congregational) recordings. Although the finished product is perhaps not always as polished as a studio project, this is more than compensated for in terms of authenticity. Townend writes hymns and songs of substance for people to sing together, and that’s precisely what we get.

Most of the songs are led by Stuart himself, with Kate Simmonds and Lou Fellingham also making appearances. At least three-quarters of the recordings have been published before (coming from events like Stoneleigh, The Mandate, New Frontiers conferences, and meetings at CCK in Brighton), but it is good to have them all together in one package.

Some tracks are very upbeat with full-on band, others are more reflective, perhaps with just an acoustic guitar for accompaniment. The new material includes exciting new Abbey Road versions of tracks from Stuart’s recent Monument To Mercy album. All lyrics are included, so you really have no excuse for not singing along!

Challenging

Prepare to be challenged. Some may confuse joy and exuberance with triumphalism and an over-realised eschatology, but Townend doesn’t want us to be satisfied with just the here and now. And his song ‘How Long?’ is no backward-looking prayer for revival, but instead turns our attention to the promised return of our Lord Jesus...

We have sung our songs of victory,
We have prayed to you for rain;
We have cried for your compassion
To renew the land again.
Now we’re standing in your presence,
More hungry than before;
Now we’re on your steps of mercy,
And we’re knocking at your door.

How long before you drench the barren land?
How long before we see your righteous hand?
How long before your name is lifted high?
How long before the weeping turns to songs of joy?

Lord, we know your heart is broken
By the evil that you see,
And you’ve stayed your hand of judgment
For you plan to set men free.
But the land is still in darkness,
And we’ve fled from what is right;
We have failed the silent children
Who will never see the light.

But I know a day is coming
When the deaf will hear his voice,
When the blind will see their Saviour,
And the lame will leap for joy.
When the widow finds a husband
Who will always love his bride,
And the orphan finds a Father
Who will never leave her side.

How long before your glory lights the skies?
How long before your radiance lifts our eyes?
How long before your fragrance fills the air?
How long before the earth resounds with songs of joy?

In a word: Amen.
PGDH
http://www.colossiansthreesixteen.org