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Let's start this way. Are you familiar with "Every Move I Make," "You're Worthy of My Praise," "Mercy is Falling," and "Sweet Mercies"? For the listener who loves these songs, they're composed by David Ruis and are on the first installment of the "Vineyard Voices" series. For the worship leader, Vineyard has done it again, compiling ten well-known Ruis songs, plus three new ones with CCLI numbers and PDFs for overhead masters and charts--all under one convenient roof entitled Every Move I Make_

Now on to the music! Ruis has been all over the map with the title track, not just with Vineyard Music Canada, as many of these songs on this compilation have been integral inclusions of the Vineyard Winds of Worship series. Every Move I Make is not a compilation "best of" project; Ruis took a very tight-knit band into the studio last summer to make all-new recordings of the aforementioned songs.

What's different? For the most part, the texture of this recording is rock and roll; however, in the same breath, I wasn't immediately enamored with Ruis' _The Mystery_ (http://www.tollbooth.org/2002/reviews/druis.html), likening it to experimental music. The pace of that project seemed to be pretty frenetic and less controlled; I prefer this version of "Faithful" to the original (from _The Mystery_). The guitars here build much more slowly and evenly, mirroring a natural, growing intensity in worship.

Before running out to grab this CD, be aware that there are no big worship choruses included in this set of recordings. I have the feeling David Ruis wants us to be the chorus. For example, in this version of "Mercy is Falling," Ruis includes "Better is one day" (as in Psalm 84, not the Vineyard song of the same phrase), and again, I prefer this version to the original Winds of Worship reading, which seemed to be almost out of control. This rendition is much more effective and, indeed, affective.

Noteworthy is Jason Halbert's production, and he (as keyboardist, along with Ruis) and fellow former SONICFLOOd side-mate guitarist Dwayne Laring on drums help round out a very sturdy studio band ("Wash Over Me" is recorded live). These performances are very solid.

Weaknesses? I would have liked to have heard the Halbert treatment of another Winds of Worship Canada song, "Megwich Kitchi Manitou," an Ojibway praise tune. And I'm certain worship friends who follow Ruis' offerings can name another favorite or two "missing" from this collection. And while there are backing vocals, another voice or two that we, the audience, can add to while listening and/or worshipping to this recording would have helped the overall tone.

Extra points: the enhanced hybrid CD is compatible with older versions of Windows and Macintosh, as well as XP and OS X.

Olin Jenkins  January 22, 2005