See The Morning - the review

I have already said that I believe Chris Tomlin is the benchmark when it comes to P&W music and his new, highly anticipated, CD `See The Morning' has done nothing to change that view.
It was a pleasant surprise when I was able to buy the CD today, having only called into the shop in my travels to check when it was released.
This is of course the follow-up to the outstanding `Arriving' CD of 2004. I won't do a track-by-track but just highlight what has struck me most on a couple of listens.
I think the stand-out song is `Made To Worship', which isn't unlike Indescribable (from the Arriving CD) in its praise.
But it's hard to convey the genuine emotion in words.
`You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free
When you and I embrace surrender
What you and I choose to believe
Then you and I will see who we were meant to be'

I quite like `Everlasting God' which wasn't actually written or co-written by Chris Tomlin and the last three songs, `Rejoice', `Let Your Mercy Reign' and `Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)' are really something.
I want to focus on Amazing Grace. It's a song we all know and I'm sure all love. To me classics like this are untouchable. The liner notes on the CD by Chris Tomlin say when he was researching the song he discovered the original final verse written by John Newton was different to the `10 Thousand Years' verse we sing. So he has recorded the original words and added a refrain. I think he has done justice to the song. It retains it's familiar feel. Covering classics is fraught with danger. He's done it well.

To finish, he explains why the CD is called `See The Morning', along with several bible verses. It is clear Chris wants the album to be positive and uplifting (not surprising for a P&W album).

He writes `The morning is a place of hope, a place of worship...I pray these songs help you see the morning. If you find yourself in the dark night of hardship, grief or circumstance, know that the morning is coming. And if you find yourself in the best of times, praise God for the morning.'