Like a familiar friend, the voice of Darlene Zschech lends itself to a live worship project.
A pioneer of the modern worship movement through her years with Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, Zschech continues to raise the bar with Revealing Jesus. Produced by four-time Grammy-winner Israel Houghton, the album, recorded last September at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Ala., includes Michael W. Smith and Kari Jobe as co-writers and performers.
Revealing Jesus features a variety of tempos and styles to engage listeners, including explosive anthems such as “Best for Me” and “All That We Are,” and more intimate ballads such as “Magnificent” and “Your Presence Is Heaven.”
“In Jesus’ Name” is among the project’s highlights, spotlighting the freedom and healing of Christ through a chorus that proclaims, “I will live, I will not die,” and which confronts sickness and cancer while declaring “the finished work of Christ in this place.” “Victor’s Crown,” a resurrection-centered praise track, builds into a triumphant chorus, much like “Worthy Is the Lamb.” Kari Jobe guests on the soft-rock ballad “Yours Forever.”
The release also includes a reworking of the hymn “My Jesus I Love Thee” and “Your Name/Cry of the Broken,” which blends the familiar praise song into a new refrain.
Zschech, with Houghton’s direction, has crafted one of the finest live worship projects in recent memory, which serves as a bridge for those raised on early Hillsong music who want to sing a new song. A companion book and DVD release simultaneously.
