Worship
An impressive thread of praise and worship runs through the career of Michael W. Smith. After all, he's penned two of today's finest modern praise songs ("Great Is the Lord" and "Agnus Dei"), and he was the creative genius behindExodus, a brilliant collection of worship material. Yet that same artistic spirit seems sadly lacking onWorship, Smith's first solely praise and worship release. All parts are assembled, with Smith on vocals and keyboards, and an all-star choir ofAmy Grant,Phillips, Craig & Dean,Chris Rice,Cindy Morgan, and others backing him on this live release. But outside of a few selected tracks ("Let It Rain" and "Draw Me Close"),Worshipfalls flat. Smith's decision to cover the day's most popular praise songs and not focus on new material of his own weakens the record's impact. In fact, "Purified," one of two studio tracks on the release, was cowritten by Smith and his wife, and it's the CD's brightest moment. WhileWorshipis not a forgettable release, it is, unfortunately, predictable.--Michael Lyttle