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Artist: Matt Nightingale
Label: Fools of the World
Time: 10 tracks/42:12 min.
The Christian Music industry is currently chock full of releases from Contemporary Worship leaders from a wide variety of churches world-wide. Many hew to a certain formula or sound associated with their label or denomination. Oftentimes, a single church or conference releases many recordings. So many sound the same and cover the same songs, that they are a waste of consumer's money and time. I am happy to report that Matt Nightingale, worship pastor at Peninsula Covenant Church in Redwood City, CA, overcomes the majority of these pitfalls.
The album starts with Nightingale's only cover, Terry Butler's "Psalm 19." This upbeat track immediately showcases the tight sound featured throughout the recording. The music is crisp, playful and expertly delivered. Mike Roe (of the 77's and The Lost Dogs) and Ralph Stover produced, and the focus is expertly directed on Nightingale's songs & vocals.
While not every track is above average, there are many highlights among 'Nightingale's nine original songs (with a few co-writers). "Lullaby" stands out as a beautiful melody line, and a non-typical worship song. Eschewing the typical "Vertical" lyrics that most worship songs use, this is a poem that reminds us of the joy of the mystery central to our faith.
If I could be a billionaire, I'd buy the world for youAnd if I could answer all the questions that we don't have the answers for
I'd buy you everything you want; I'd buy the stars, I'd buy the moon
I would solve all our problems; we wouldn't need Jesus anymore:In his credits Nightingale acknowledges great lyrical bands, such as The Choir, Over the Rhine, and The Lost Dogs. While he doesn't quite reach the poetic beauty of Steve Hindalong (The Choir) or the deft lyrical touch of Terry Taylor (The Lost Dogs), Nightingale's lyrics show great thought and reverence. The remaining songs on the disc provide a balanced approach to worship, with songs voiced to God, and songs directed towards family (one to his children, another to his wife). It is particularly nice not to be inundated with covers of the same worship songs that everyone else has already covered.
But I know when we look inside for answers
We only find more trouble there
There's an answer hidden in the questions
That's the mystery of faith
While Nightingale shows off a strong baritone voice, often reminiscent of Jeremy Camp, it is nothing particularly distinctive from many other male worship leaders. His songwriting shows great promise, and his musical chops are very obvious.
Despite Mike Roe's presence on the disc, playing a variety of instruments, there is no obvious musical moment where he showcases his chops. Mike is simply part of the support for Nightingale. This brings me to the secret weapon on this project. The rhythm section of Mark Harmon (Bass) and Bruce Spencer (Drums) provides not only solid support to the songs, but touches of creativity that lift the songs beyond what other musicians typically deliver to similar projects.
Not a perfect disc, but most certainly an above-average one, Still Standing is the direction I hope more worship leaders take. Nightingale shows great potential as a recording artist. I, for one, hope he continues to collaborate with top notch musicians, while stretching himself even more musically and lyrically.
By Jonathan Nelson
1/9/2006
