{"id":978,"date":"2011-01-11T10:12:56","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T16:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iamanoffering.com\/blog\/?p=978"},"modified":"2011-04-22T14:55:38","modified_gmt":"2011-04-22T20:55:38","slug":"songs-from-the-hope-farm-saint-lewis-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamanoffering.com\/blog\/songs-from-the-hope-farm-saint-lewis-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Songs from the Hope Farm from Saint Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I\u2019ve been acquainted with Shannon Lewis<\/a> for quite a while on Twitter<\/a> and when I found out that he and his wife had released an EP of original music I was quite excited about it.\u00a0 But, me being the procrastinator I tend to be, I didn\u2019t get around to buying the recording.\u00a0 However, after reviewing Joe Day\u2019s Grace Shannon contacted me to ask if I\u2019d be willing to do a review and of course I said yes!\u00a0 Listening to Shannon and Cyle\u2019s music has been a pleasure, and I\u2019m so glad to be privileged to write a review<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The first thing that I have to get out of the way is that I\u2019m finally beginning to do some of my own recording and I must say, it is NOT EASY<\/strong>.\u00a0 So, I have new appreciation for recording artists and while I can share my opinion about things, the very fact that anyone even CAN make a recording that\u2019s good enough to listen to gives them more credibility than me!\u00a0 So, I\u2019m very thankful to offer my humble opinion, and hopefully, soon, I\u2019ll be able to review with a little more actual recording experience under my belt.\u00a0 I digress \u2013 on to the review!<\/p>\n

While Shannon is a worship leader and these are \u201cworship\u201d songs (insert your own definition of whatever that\u2019s really supposed to mean), I find this EP unique in the fact that it is the only one in my collection that PREPARES me for worship<\/strong>.\u00a0 Most other \u201cworship\u201d albums cause me to immediately jump into vertical (me-to-God) worship without much preparation at all.\u00a0 Of course, if I\u2019ve been diligent to be in the Word before a time of worship it\u2019s much easier to jump right in, but after listening to this album a few times I started to realize that sometimes making a musical, face-first dive right into a worship album might not be the right way to go.<\/p>\n

This fantastic EP features a sound that is truly the sound of Saint Lewis, as I have a hard time comparing it to anyone (and that\u2019s a good thing!).\u00a0 Driving guitars, soaring vocals from Shannon, lovely support from his wife, and creative instrumentation and loops make this a wonderful listen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Shannon starts the record off with a proclamation and reminder that \u201cAll in all it\u2019s been all about You.\u201d<\/strong> This track sets the tone for the rest of the recording, that it is indeed, all about the Father\u2019s love and not about what we can \u201csay about\u201d His love.<\/p>\n

\u201cRejoice in Me,\u201d the next track<\/strong> shifts the listener deeper into preparation by having the Father speak to the listener directly.\u00a0 I\u2019ve found myself singing \u201cIf you Rejoice in me, then I will give you all you need\u201d over and over many times!\u00a0 I love the line, \u201cLife and death, your eternal breath, it\u2019s all wrapped it within me.\u201d<\/p>\n

We are again helped to prepare for worship with \u201cWandering Heart\u201d<\/strong> a passionate cry to \u201cbring my wandering heart to Yours,\u201d further reminding the listener and worshiper to refocus on the first love of their faith.\u00a0 Also LOVE the groove of the bass line on this track.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuiet heart,\u201d a very creative \u201cambient\u201d track<\/strong> on the recording seems to me like it is the summary of the whole recording.\u00a0 The delicate vocals, soothing instrumentation, and child-like proclamation of Scripture at the end make this the perfect piece of music to prepare for worship.\u00a0 I love the Common Children\/Hammock-esque feel of this piece.<\/p>\n

The theme of a father\u2019s love continues with \u201cFly,\u201d<\/strong> a lovely prayer for a growing child with some unique ways of incorporating the sounds of new life into a forever-recorded piece of art that the child can appreciate for the rest of his life.\u00a0 Fitting perfectly into the heart of the Father\u2019s love that had already been captured in \u201cRejoice in Me\u201d and \u201cQuiet Heart,\u201d I can hear both Shannon and his wife singing to their child as well as our own Heavenly Father singing the song to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou Came Running,\u201d the beginning of a response time<\/strong> after the listener has had a great time of preparation, is a very fresh take on the prodigal story with soaring guitar lines and a great vocal hook in the chorus.<\/p>\n

The last two tracks, \u201cCall me to Live\u201d and \u201cComing Kingdom\u201d<\/strong> are both great prayers as well as really good showcases of Shannon\u2019s talent as a singer and musician.\u00a0 I love the power of Shannon\u2019s vocals on \u201cCall me to Live\u201d and the contrasting simplicity of just having vocals and guitar in \u201cComing Kingdom.\u201d\u00a0 This last track also gives a perfect finish to the overall use of the album to prepare us for worship.\u00a0 The new way in which the Lord\u2019s Prayer is interpreted brings fresh inspiration for Jesus\u2019 call to us of \u201cThis then, is how you should pray.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only things I find difficult with this album (and these are minor things, for sure) is that it tends to get slightly repetitive in a few of the choruses.\u00a0 I also don\u2019t find that most of this album would be easy to incorporate into corporate worship.\u00a0 But, as I\u2019ve already mentioned, no other album that I\u2019ve heard does the job of preparing me for a time of worship as this one<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I highly recommend this recording.\u00a0 You can purchase it through iTunes<\/a>, directly from Shannon\u2019s site, and for the rest of January 2011, download 3 songs from it (plus an extra) for free through NoiseTrade<\/a>!<\/p>\n