So I was blessed recently to receive a free copy of the “Worship Leader Edition" of Israel Houghton's latest CD, The Power of One, so that I could review it and tell you all what I think! I have SO much to say that I already fear this is going to be a LONG review! Hang in there, though; it’s worth checking out!

First of all, not only does the Worship Leader Edition have the full-length studio recording on CD (which I had actually already downloaded on iTunes by recommendation of a friend), it also has a DVD which contains: 1) Israel Houghton's live video performance of intimate acoustic versions of most of the songs, 2) Instructional guitar tutorials for select songs, 3) The stories behind the songs, and 4) a "making of" mini-documentary.

In addition, there is a 2nd CD that contains: 1) The matching audio from the live DVD performance, 2) Sheet music, 3) Chord charts, and 4) Lyric text files for all songs. Quite a combined resource!

For those familiar with Vineyard Music's album "Dwell" back in 2003, you have seen this similar type of resource before. I'm glad to see more and more record labels making good use of technology to both inspire and resource other worship leaders in the Body of Christ - with tools they need to do their jobs more effectively & efficiently!

The first thing I did when I got the Worship Leader Edition was to listen to the studio recording and watch the live acoustic performance. It was fantastic to hear the same songs done in completely different ways. It was also fun to watch Israel lead live on the video and interact with his band and the crowd/audience gathered in a more intimate context.

I find the mixture of styles on his studio album incredibly refreshing and inspiring. There are flavors of Reggae, Rap, Latin, Gospel, World Beat...I'd even say Middle Eastern, Grunge, & African as well. It seems like every second of every song there are so many things happening musically. I was massively enjoying the "ear candy" in every track. Amazing production. Incredible creativity. Sing-able lyrics. Catchy melodies. Wonderful, memorable references to scripture.

The only downside for me, as a simple acoustic guitar player without a giant band/choir to back me up, it seemed daunting to try and attempt any of these songs and really do them any justice! This is where the live acoustic versions were a HUGE help.

I felt the acoustic versions really cast a vision for the average church band or small group worship leader to aspire to. Israel performs his set live on acoustic guitar with only a percussionist, pianist, and bass player (and sometimes they trade instruments). Now they are all incredibly talented players whom most of us would still struggle to emulate...nonetheless, it does show that "simpler" versions can be done, and still have an incredible impact.

One of my favorite songs is "Just Wanna Say," though I tend to think some churches might find it harder to implement into their Sunday sets. Other favorites are “I Receive” and “Moving Forward” – for their simplicity and congregationally accessible nature – especially the acoustic versions.

There are numerous other songs that I truly enjoy from a listener’s perspective – like “Everywhere That I Go,” “Sing Redemption’s Song,” and especially the title track, “The Power of One (Change the World).” However, I am not sure how many I would practically be able to introduce, whether for stylistic reasons, lack of congregational accessibility, or for the chords/melody being a bit too complicated for the bands or congregations in the environments where I currently lead.

Israel does makes it clear in the “Song Stories” on the DVD that this record intentionally is not all congregational worship songs. Even so, there are numerous I would be tempted to try!

A basic theme that seemed to permeate the record was the scripture that says “goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” Another line that repeated a few times was “You found me.” At times when listening through the CD, I would go back to look at the lyric insert to see if it was my imagination or if he’d really already sung that line in the previous track(s). There were moments that the lyrics felt monotonous to me, but regardless, each song certainly stands alone and is very strong in its own right.

As for the guitar tutorials, I don’t find them incredibly helpful for the beginner (or what I’d call myself: average player). I’m embarrassed to say it was often over my head, and I felt lost most of the time. Israel doesn’t stop to REALLY show you what he’s doing. It would be great if they would have put the chord/tabs on the screen and/or if Israel would have paused more often to really show us what he was doing rather just play through the songs in normal speed. Like how the heck do you play an “E13” anyways?

Be sure to print the sheet music or chord charts first so you can attempt to follow along, and be ready to learn some new chords! He does admit during one of the tutorials that it’s being recorded at 1:30am and in a few others that he doesn’t even know the name of a few of the chords he’s playing, so God bless him for trying!

I think my favorite part about the whole package is - though Israel is obviously an insanely talented singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, producer, arranger, and minister to the Body of Christ - his humility and passion for worship really shone through. For me, as a worship leader and songwriter that has been involved with Vineyard Music for more than a decade now, I so appreciate all there is to digest and from which to glean from this resource!

I would highly recommend to any worship leader out there that they pick up the Worship Leader Edition of “The Power of One” for your both your worship band’s use and your personal enjoyment.

Well done, Israel Houghton & Integrity Music. God bless you all for your “commitment to help people worldwide experience the manifest presence of God.”