Todd Recommends...

There are a few songs that have really been gets lots of play in Todd-Land. I thought it might be fun to share them with you all! If you know some of these tunes, feel free to chime in...

"All I Have" - Vineyard Playlist (Stand In Awe)
I like Vineyard stuff, but normally, I find their catalog just too unreliable. It's hard to buy a Vineyard album without listening all the way through because you never know what you're going to get.
But when they get it right, they get it right.

The Stand In Awe record is most well-known for making Jeremy Riddle the hot new thing in modern worship, but I think "All I Have" is the big shiny gem in this record.

Lyrically, the tune is solid and the melody is about as inviting as they come. True to Vineyard form, the arrangement is very simple. (Which I love...) They might be unreliable, but you can't say Vineyard stuff is hard to use!

I haven't found a place to use the song in worship yet. So far, I'm just enjoying it all on my own.


"Our God Above" - Andy Melvin (The Human Engine Waits)

In my experience, good rockin' worship songs are hard to find. I had heard of Andy. He's a worship leader at the Austin Stone Community Church and a gal on my praise team at our church came back from Austin one weekend bragging on their worship. I've yet to make my way through the whole record...mostly because I can't stop listening to track 1. I've got big plans for "Our God Above." The TWB will be trying it out on March 30th in Nacogdoches. (It's the tune that's playing behind the Remnant Promo I uploaded on Monday.)


"Lamb of God" - Scott Reed (The Life I Live)
"Lamb of God" isn't Scott Reed's song. It was written by Twila Paris in 1985 and since then has shown up on numerous records and in many, many Easter musicals. My plan is to learn this and play it at next week's Good Friday service. I really like Scott's version of the tune - nice and epic but still right at home in a church service.






"What Wondrous Love Is This" - Fernando Ortega (Beginnings)
I actually first heard this song last year as I tried very hard to work up guitar accompaniment for a Holy Week service. In the end, my guitar part was lame and I didn't particularly enjoy the song. This year, when I was looking through some Easter stuff, I found Fernando Ortega's rendition of the tune and decided to give it a listen, once again proving my theory that Fernando Ortega can make anything sound amazing. But beyond that, I think this version from Beginnings really gives this song the treatment it needs.

As best I can tell, the song is pretty much the same. There's a neat change of chord structure on the last few passes of the song that lift it dynamically without being obtuse about it. A great song. I'd like to use it sometime, but that would violate my Fernando Ortega theory: DON'T EVER TRY HIS SONGS. YOU'LL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH.
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So, there are the tunes I'm digging and thinking about using.

What about you? What are you listening to right now?