Louder Than The Music

Onething is the International House of Prayer's premier conference for young adults. This album was recorded live in front of over 20,000 people in Kansas City in December 2009. Released as a CD/DVD combo, 'Onething'09 Live' features several of the IHOP worship leaders, capturing the songs and spontaneous worship times from this vibrant worship event.

Opening track 'Lowest Place' features some great keyboard riffs as Laura Hackett repeatedly sings "Your river rushes to the lowest place... come and rush over me". The guitars and drums give this worship opener a great rock feel. Next up is 'You Made A Way' which has a much more mellow feel, a reverent and sincere song, focused on what God did for us.

Demonstrating the range of musical styles covered on this album, 'People Get Ready' is a Celtic sounding track from Misty Edwards, almost trance like in style, and more of a spontaneous piece of music than a song. Contrastingly, 'My Beloved' has a mellow soulful, almost gospel, tone to it during the quiet verses sung by Jaye Thomas. Then Cory Asbury takes over the vocals for the choruses and the song moves into a powerful worship song with its repeated lines of "My Beloved is beautiful, He's dazzling and excellent".

'Whom The Son Sets Free' is another funky Gospely track with a great guitar solo, whereas 'Forevermore' is pure soul as Davy Flowers leads the song from her acoustic guitar, with gentle drums and jazzy guitars in the background giving it a real Brand New Heavies vibe.

'Where I Belong' is a quieter, prayerful song, as Cory sings "I've finally found where I belong, in your presence. I've finally found where I belong, Lord". 'No One Else' is rhythmic, almost repetitive, but its great rhythm really gets the crowd clapping, at times allowing the vocals to be accompanied by just the drum beat and the crowd clapping in time. Then there's 'Reason To Dance' which feels like a club hit, distorted snyths and guitars set to a dance beat, but with the inclusion of a screaming rock guitar.

The DVD shows the vast audience stretching out from the stage as the group of musicians and worship leaders take a very willing crowd on a spiritual journey. But to be honest, I think this album works better on the CD, as during the slower songs, which aren't very animated, the DVD feels a bit lost at times, as the camera swoops over crowd and stage with little to show. The passion of the more dancey songs is more visually appealing later on though, and the DVD certainly does a does a good job of capturing the atmosphere of the event.

This album is perhaps better suited to music to accompany your own personal times of prayer and worship, than as a performance recording you might listen to during recreation. But with the range of musical talents and styles featured, there is sure to be something for everyone.

Review by Dave Wood

LTTM Rating 3 out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
My Beloved
Lowest Place
No One Else