Album Review   

Access:D - by Delirious

CD Review (Tim Wang)

Delirious has come a long way. They first came to the Christian public with hits like “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever”, “The Happy Song”, “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”, and many others. With every album they put out, they have matured and progressed in their sound to reach a wider listening audience. They even ventured into secular music charts in the U.K. and reached all the way up to number 16 with “See the Stars”. But even with secular musical success, the boys did not lose their worship roots and it is quite obvious in Access: D Live worship in the key of D.

As the album title indicates, this is a live album that is separated into two discs. It is almost thematic for Delirious’ live albums to be in cases made out of metal or as they called the first album, Live and in the Can. The two discs are separated into what seems like two long worship sets. I believe that the best way to enjoy God’s presence is to worship him and have others worship him with you. Apparently, Delirious agrees. Even though they have become a full-fledged rock band, in their live shows they cannot help but “worship” with the audience. Granted, a lot of their tune is “praise” compatible, but I’ve been to other Christian concerts that are no different than any other secular concerts with a brief scripture reading in the end just to remind people that it is in fact a Christian concert. Delirious do, in fact, “rock out” a lot, but the focus of the whole evening is transparently clear throughout every facet of the concert. With Access: D, I am reminded of the live performances I’ve gone to in the past as they have captured the Delirious experience so vividly, so much that I feel as if I’m at their concert, pogo-sticking and just worshipping with freedom that I usually do not possess.

This album is also a good choice for those people who are not familiar with Delirious’ songs. They have put out quite a few albums and it is all here. Some are re-arranged to make things interesting (The Happy Song), and one track is sung not by the usual vocalist Martin Smith, but by the lead guitarist Stuart Garrard (a.k.a. StuG). Musically speaking, it is quite funny to listen to him sing. At least his pitch is steady and unwavering. Another interesting track is “Hang on to you”. It is sung by the lead-vocalist, but in the intro of the song, Martin Smith’s voice cracks multiple times and it sounds like he is struggling to get to the high notes. I believe they did this to maintain the continuity of the live experience and I think it’s cool because it is a LIVE CD!! Mistakes happen in live settings, but seeing the band you enjoy live is an experience like no other, with or without mistakes. In fact, on a live recording, mistakes make the recording all the more “live”.

Bassist Jon Thatcher said this in an interview about Delirious’ popularity among Christians and their relative obscurity among non-Christians in North America "There's a massive machine that can facilitate our music out there but it also means we get pigeon holed into the Christian section which is great but we want more people than just Christians to hear our music." Delirious’ main focus right now is to reach non-believers with their music by appealing to them with sounds that do not fit into the “Christian” category to secular listeners. But the focus of their lives remains apparent and kept alive in their live performances, and this album has captured their passion for Jesus gloriously.