CD: Matt Redman - Intimacy
The name Matt Redman is familiar to many as one of our finest and most prolific songwriters. For many years he has led worship at the Soul Survivor Christian Youth Conference and Intimacy will be the 24 year-old's fourth album.
Musically, this album is hard to pin down. Cheesy 'praise and worship' it's not. But then, you can't really fit it into any nice category. If you can imagine a fusion of acid jazz, black gospel, ambient progressive dance grooves and a bit of old-fashioned rock 'n' roll, then you've obviously already heard the record! It's a very pleasing combination! The listing of musicians for this album reads like a 'Who's Who' of the UK Christian music scene. With the addition of eight (yes, eight!) different percussionists and a genuine Zulu choir it is hardly surprising that the musical influences to be found here are so varied.
Lyrically, this album is probably Redman's finest offering so far. His honesty is striking in Heart of Worship - a musician's confession that he has become too focused on the music, and too little on its supposed subject: 'I'll bring you more than a song/ For a song in itself is not what you have required/ You search much deeper within/. . . I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it/. . . I'm coming back to the heart of worship/. . . And it's all about you, Jesus.' Now To Live The Life continues on a similar theme, reminding the listener that the songs we sing and the words we pray in church have to be accompanied by a life of holiness outside. For the Cross is the most powerful song on the album lyrically: 'You came into a world of shame/ Paid the price we could not pay/ You were broken/ You were beaten/ You were punished, I go free/ O, the mystery of the cross/ You were punished/ But that punishment has become my peace.'
