Paul Baloche
Our God Saves (Integrity)
Released September 2007
By Andree Farias from: Christianity today

Sounds like … Brian Doerksen, Matt Redman, Brenton Brown, Chris Tomlin, and other pop/rock styled greats of the modern worship canon.

At a glance … Our God Saves could well be Paul Baloche’s finest performance-oriented worship recording, but the songs themselves aren’t as memorable as his best work.

Worship leader Paul Baloche isn’t one to get caught up in the celebrity trappings of more CCM-based worship artists, though he has every reason to after composing some of modern and contemporary worship’s most beloved anthems, like “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” “Above All,” and “All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises.” But these songs were written for the church, not radio, and that may explain why people are more likely to recognize the melodies than their author.

Worship-music diehards are a different story, recognizing that Baloche is a songwriting machine and a true musical resource for the church. That was certainly the case with Baloche’s fifth album A Greater Song, considered by many to be his finest album to date. For that reason, Our God Saves comes with high anticipation, begging the question, “Does it measure up to A Greater Song?” Said differently, “Is it just as accessible for congregations?” Well, yes and no.

Sonically, Our God Saves is every bit as current and rocking as Song was, sharing a louder, stadium-rock quality that was absent from Baloche’s earlier, inspo-safe offerings. The electric guitars are high in the mix, the drumming is fierce, and the wall of sound is impenetrable. It’s a series of powerhouse anthems, from the soaring title track and the modern-rock dynamics of “The Kingdom of God,” to the tender “You Gave Your Life Away” and the swaying “Beyond Us” (a lovely duet with fellow worship leader Kathryn Scott).

The album is spotlessly performed and produced, written in community alongside some of the genre’s best—Scott, Brenton Brown, Matt Redman, Glenn Packiam—all of whom have a turn at the microphone here. Yet the songs themselves generally seem to lack a certain something that makes them as instantly memorable as Baloche’s best work, including the “greater” songs of his previous album. Time will tell if Our God Saves will truly become a valuable worship resource for the church. But from a concert standpoint, it’s undeniably an impressive live worship experience.

 Believe the hype. Believe everything GREAT you’ve heard about this album. If someone tells you it’s good, they’re lying. It’s GREAT. In my rose colored glasses, most everything that the David Crowder Band puts out is really, really, good, but this album, “Remedy,” is one of their best yet. If you don’t have this as of now, stop reading my blog and go out and buy it…it’ll change your life.

**The Glory of it All- You may have first heard this track from Passion 07 earlier this year or from an itunes bundle featuring this song. To me, it’s one of the greatest, if not THE greatest song ever written by David Crowder. For me, it speaks into my lilfe. This song was huge to me during a difficult time in my wife and I’s life. It’s been touched up a bit from the live version and comes out so strong.

**Can You Feel It?- Bwack’s beep’s, glitches, and all the other great stuff he throws into a song to make it come alive really standout in this track. Crank this one up and “feel it.”

** Everything Glorious- Here’s another track you’ve heard before if you’re a fan of Passion. It’s also the first single from the album and it’s blowing up the charts. And for good reason. It has every little piece of greatness that is the David Crowder Band in it. Plus, the lyrics are just great!

**…neverending…- This song has quickly become one of my favorites on the album. I can close my eyes and see our band @ Fusion playing this one and all the students going crazy, jumping and dancing. It has such a great hook to it. It almost reminds you of Foreverandever etc. from A Collision, but yet different enough to be it’s own. Go ahead, bob your head to this one…you won’t be able to stop.

**Never Let Go- I love this song. It’s a ballad with David on the piano where he really shows off his vocal ability for the glory of God. It’s a great tune about the endearing love of God, never letting go through all that life has to throw at us. Very catchy too.

** O, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing- Maybe you’ve heard this one before…with choir, piano/organ and really bad song leader. Not gonna find that here. This is classic old school Crowder. This classic hymn has new life here and will surely be sung all over again in churches everywhere.

**Rain Down- Here’s another track you’ve heard before if you’re a long time fan of dc*b. Rain Down has new life and bwack really makes this track pop, not to mention the strong drums and guitars. I hope this song gets some air time on radio because it should really see the light of the CCM charts.

**We Won’t Quiet- There’s nothing quiet about this track. The Motor City Madman, Mr. Ted Nugent makes and apperance on this track with his signature guitar shredding. Go easy on your eardrums with this one….nah…crank it!

**Remedy- The title track for the album is a great one. It makes the best statement of any song on the album…”He’s the one who has saved us/ He’s the one has embraced/ He’s the one who is coming again/ He’s the remedy.” It doesn’t get much better than that. 

**Surely We Can Change- The last track on the album is a slower one and bit off the path, but fits perfectly in the whole layout of the album. Plus, the lyrics are amongst the strongest on the entire album, full of really, really strong lyrics throughout. It ends with this great line…”The whole world’s about to change.” How true that is.

If I had to pick one negative about “Remedy” it would be that it just wasn’t long enough. It’s a great journey through sound, passion, conviction, and exuberance for our risen King!

From: Bobby Williams, www.confessionsofaworshipper.com