Today marks the release of Hillsong Live's 22nd worship project entitled Glorious Ruins and MultiTracks.com is proud to be able to bring you all of the stems for every song on this passionate album of praise to help you lead these incredible songs in your church. We're here on the floor of the Hillsong Conference in Sydney and it's been an incredible time of worship and we believe there are many songs on this project that will likely become anthems that will resonate in your life and the life of your local church.
Long-time fans of Hillsong worship music won't be disappointed as Joel Houston, Reuben Morgan, Ben Fielding, and Matt Crocker, among others, return with yet another offering of prayerfully covered and thoughtfully crafted songs of lyrical depth and interesting, dynamic musical arrangements.
We'll highlight a few of the tracks here for you in this review, and we encourage you to check out the release on iTunes and you can see the Glorious Ruins trailer below. For a more in-depth review, we've posted a 45 minute pre-release video from the Hillsong team where you can hear many of the songs from the album, as well as getting the chance to hear the inspiration behind the songs and some testimonies from team members about how God is using these songs in the church and their lives personally.
The album opens with "Always Will," which is an infectious up-tempo declaration of God's eternal love and omnipresence. With a distinctive Euro-pop flavor, this song is a big praise anthem that will serve well as a service opener, or to draw people back to respond to the character of God. You can clearly hear the theme of the song in the lyric, "Your love keeps chasing me, and it always will, it always will! Your grace keeps changing me, and it always will, it always will." MultiTracks.com has all of the master recorded stems that you'll need to re-create the unique sound of this song, whether integrated with live musicians, or as a stand-alone backing track.
The title track, "Glorious Ruins," stretches out for almost 9 minutes and offers multiple opportunities to reflect on how God has brought new life up from the ruins of our sin-stained brokenness. Last night we heard Pastor Brian Houston preach an incredible message around this song with roots in Ezra chapter 9 about how God brings our ruins to life. Even as humanity sought to ruin Christ, God redeemed the world through it! This song features a thoughtful, spacious intro and an extended instrumental reflection or exhortation section in the middle. Worshipers are given ample space to internalize these simple, yet profound lyrics, "I'll look to the cross, as my failure is lost, in the light of Your glorious grace. So let the ruins come to life. . . "The song has 12 tracks (including a choir stem!) that will provide you with plenty of flexibility in how to construct the arrangement and instrumentation for use in your congregation.
"Anchor" - "There is hope in the promise of the cross. You gave everything to save the world You love. And this hope is an anchor for my soul: Our God will stand. . . Unshakeable." Echoes of Hebrews 6:19 are woven throughout this ethereal reminder of the hope that we find in Jesus. Using minor chord progressions, the piano, synths, guitars, and drum tom tracks help build tension throughout the verses and bridge sections until the chorus kicks in and resolves into major chords to musically bring us back to the core concept of the song.
"We Glorify Your Name" is a piano driven ballad that opens up into an acoustically flavored song with ties to Psalm 65:4-5 and Psalm 86:9-13. A simply constructed arrangement in the verses and chorus allow the worshiper to connect with the song from the outset, with the song building in intensity and going into a bridge that proclaims, "You are seated on a throne of grace. Unto You alone, let our voices raise."
"Christ Is Enough" is a song that was featured on WorshipTogether.com a couple weeks ago. Be sure to check out the New Song Cafe video featuring co-writers Reuben Morgan and Jonas Myrin in an acoustic guitar and vocal duet. You can also download a free Leadsheet while you're there! This song really speaks to the sufficiency of Christ in our lives. One of its most notable sections is when a re-envisioned melody is put to the classic worship anthem, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". The song transitions several times back to this classic chorus while bringing fresh creativity and musical arrangements to the theme of Christ being more than enough.
You may remember "Man of Sorrows" which was released as a single back in March just before Easter (read our review here). Featuring Matt Crocker and Brooke Ligertwood, "Man of Sorrows" fits solidly into the category of a modern hymn, with four verses, bridge, and chorus. This fresh lyrical journey helps us to come once again into an intimate confrontation with the relentless passion and purpose of Christ in His obedience even unto death, and then the history transforming, life-changing triumph of the resurrection! Suitable for use all the year long, you'll appreciate the instrumentation and arrangement found in the tracks.
"Now my debt is paid, it is paid in full, By the precious blood, that my Jesus spilled. Now the curse of sin has no hold on me. Whom the Son sets free, oh is free indeed."
"Oh that rugged cross: my salvation; where Your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, Hallelujah! Praise and honor unto Thee!"
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