album review   

United We Stand - Hillsong

CD Review by Sue-Jean Chung
DVD Review by Peter Byon

In a word, this CD is “awesome”!  If you’re looking for a good, all around CD that has a bit of everything, this is it.  It’s got some great, high energy worship, with songs of more intimate praise as well as moments of “selahs”, where you’re just being still before God.  You can tell from this live recording that this was a tremendous worship experience.  As a worship leader, I always love it when people are not just praising, but truly engaging with God.

Another thing that I appreciate about Hillsongs is the creativity of the song writers.  Gone are the old rhyming clichés like “love” and “dove” or “tree” and “Calvary”.  There’s an expression of worship and thanks that captures the cry of the heart in a fresh way, with lines like,

Musically, I love the way they work with each song.  There are some worship arrangements where I think to myself, “it’d be great if they just stayed on this one theme or chord progression just a little bit longer” – but not on this CD.  Either someone did a really good job laying out the worship arrangements, or the worship leaders are very discerning with how the Holy Spirit is leading (personally, I’d like to think it’s the latter).

All in all, this is a CD definitely worth adding to your collection.

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I agree with Sue Jean – this is a truly awesome CD, one that has instantly propels itself into my shortlist of favorites, Christian or otherwise.  In my opinion the CD alone is worth the price of this release, bonus DVD or not. 

Many, however, will still inquire into the DVD.  Contents-wise it comes with a heavily edited (more on this later) 50 minute concert performance of the CD and an additional 28 minutes of historical documentaries on Hillsong United, behind-the-scenes footage and video of the tours and youth ministry, and exclusive interviews. 

The look and feel of the DVD is consistent with the music – very youthful, with many elements of Brit pop and Emo set against bold, highly contrasted colors.  Think of Coldplay’s “Speed of Sound” video meets U2’s “Elevation” tour meets Lifehouse’s “Hanging by a Moment” video.  In terms of production values, Hillsong’s many years of commercial success is clearly in evidence, and the entire DVD is quite enjoyable to watch on the whole.  However, I have a major quibble with some of the camera-work and video editing of the concert.  Too often, rather than providing a visual narrative to the music and the event itself that conveys the emotions, momentum, and ebb and flow of the experience, narrative cohesion and cogency is lost amid a frenzy of blurred shots, lightning quick zoom-ins/zoom-outs, pans, etc. that add very little to the music itself and actually detracts from it.

And yet, ultimately, I have to judge the concert video and bonus footage a success because its most salient quality is also vintage Hillsong – heartfelt passion.  The worship and witness of the fired up young people on this DVD was extremely moving, especially leading up to and including the culminating “Hallelujah” chorus at the end of the concert.

So for those for whom the DVD will factor into the decision, buy both with confidence.