Customer Reviews

Deliberate People Album

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This is my favorite album of all times. It leaves you yearning to spend more time with God. Hearing his experience with knowing and spending time alone with God ... makes want to know this wonderful God he loves and serves. The lyrics are so mature coupled with the passion in his voice ... its like reading the diary of a heart desperate for God.

Changed - speaks of the changes that affect all areas of life, even the choices you make...when you allow God to mold you. From the first note of the guitar you are hooked. With God, you are forever changing to be the best that God created you to be.

Time Alone - speaks of the importance of spending time alone with God. No matter how long you are alive on this earth, every morning when you awake ... there is still so much more to learn about God, as the song states "its where He opens His heart to us and where He unfolds his mysteries."

Burning Down - Its where we let go ... hurts, wrongs done to us, grudges ... "You're challenging all that I think I deserve, You're challenging the ways that I handle my hurts, for its You who shoulders the blame ... I'll remember. The burning down of me, this is the cross I see ... no other way for me."

Desperate - despite the trials and tribulations of life, the testing and refining, he thanks God for them because it was through this pain and suffering that he clung to God desperately. It was during those times that he found mercy, grace, protection, faithfulness, healing, love ... he got to truly know God. When the hard times let up ... he still wants to remain desperate for God.

Drown - I love this song. It rocks! Its a plea to quiet his mind so he can hear the Holy Spirit speaking. "Drown my worldly distractions and my call for comfort and self-satisfaction. When the world threatens the peace that surpasses all understanding ... I will be still and know You are God." Great Song!

Ordinary Day - "To be awoken from a slumber, to see the grey turned to wonderful, there's never an ordinary day ..." I wake up to this song ... and there is such a burning desire to know God. The lyrics in this song are amazing. "I forget myself with you, You draw near to me as I draw near to You, there is beauty in the way You move, I will always rise to meet You. I hear You calling me, how You sing so beautifully."

Drainpipe - Ah this one. Every time I hear it. I always think it should be called prodigal ... but drainpipe is very fitting. It speaks of someone who right before your eyes is slipping away ... yet you can't see it. "So near and yet so far away. We talked for a while 'n while we talk you drift away, standing there, you were crying but I couldn't tell."

Awe - this song leaves you in a puddle before God. "Daylight breaks and I'm back again ... surrounded the weight of Your name so astounding, the strength of Your arms, Spirit falling ... speaking again I am listening ... I stand in awe." So simple but so wonderful.

Return - It speaks of the goodness of God despite what we have been through ... and even though the scars remain from our falls. God is still faithful and "I will return ..."

Jealous - I love this song ... its a hearts cry. It starts out with God calling out to us. "Come to me, I have a ring for your finger, don't let the past come between us ... Come to me, when you aren't sure how You feel, when the idols start calling and to their arms you're falling." The imagery is amazing ... reminiscent of Songs of Solomon. And the end is from our perspective ... the passion and the lyrics ... "When You came looking for me I thought it was over, I thought we were history and all I could think about was how I let You down, how I let You down. My heart has played the harlot and wandered far from home ... and You came calling always calling ... And now on the altar I fall ... abandoned, surrendered, yield I am Yours!"

And then the album ends with the strains of Desperate ... "I want to stay desperate for You"

This is what I call a worship album ... for private worship. I love this album. Every time I hear it I just can't get enough. Its like God speaking to your heart. "Come to me, come to me ... I have been waiting, the sun will be rising ... I have a ring for your finger, don't let the past come between us." He loves us no matter what!

Phil Joel is an insightful, passionate worship leader with one motive, to make others desperate for the things of God. To empower people to live a life deliberately following after Him. Its a message that has been left out of mainstream Christian music for far too long and Phil does an amazing job of sharing that through his music. This is one of my favorite albums of all time! If you want a more intimate relationship with your creator...start here with this album, them visit his website at [...] and get his bible study materials. Your eyes will be opened and renewed to the awesomeness of God. Apart from that, the music is excellent, the production is top notch and the lyrics are inspiring. Great marks for the former Newsboys member! Thanks Phil...

Phil Joel's deliberatepeople album's purpose is to encourage people to spend time with God in prayer and in the word. Unlike any other album it does just that. I call it a "devotional album". Its amazing to listen to while you read the word or pray, or while you try to get motivated to read the word. Its very deep lyrically, yet positive and uplifting, while still challenging. Musically, its very fresh and not overproduced it almost sounds like Phil Joel is in your living room playing guitar and piano and singing these heartfelt songs. If you want an album that will change you spiritually, this is it. Hopefully it will encourage you to become more deliberate in your time with God as it does me.

Okay, I am a bit biased because Phil is my favorite singer of all time (even got to meet him, what a sweetheart he is!) but in a sea of mediocre worship albums that so many CCM artists put out, this one really stands out. The sound on this album is a little bit different than that on Phil's first two albums. Although they were fantastic, the stripped-down sounds of this album make it feel much more intimate than the them. Anyway, hereis a track-by-track description:

1. Changed-Joyful, upbeat number in which Phil praises the Lord for all the ways that His grace has changed him.
2. Time Alone-Beautiful, pleading song with lyrics showing Phil's desire to have a one-on-one relationship with the Lord and the importance of it.
3. Burning Down-talks about how when we give our lives to Christ how part of us has to "burn down" and make room for Him to come in
4. Desparate-This song is about how in hard times we must continue to cling to God, trust in Him, and as the song says, remain desparate for his love. Beautiful piano I might add.
5. Drown-Talks about how sometimes everything in the world around us can bring us away from God's love and Phil is begging Him in this song to get rid of it all
6. Ordinary Day-The title pretty much says it all! With God in your life, days no longer become ordinary but extraordinary!
7. Drainpipe-My personal favorite on the album, it hits deep for me because its lyrics relate to the story of the Prodigal Son in the book of Luke. It talks about the pain one feels when somebody is slowly slipping away from them but they can't seem to stop them (as one reviewer said, the title is probably an analogy used to represent the fact that they are "slipping away")
8. Awe-One of the softer songs on the album, this one talks about standing in reverence before the Lord and offering everything you have to Him.
9. Return-Yes, this is the same Return that is on his sophomore release, Bring it On, but I think it's even better. It has a more organic feel and feels less produced than the first, and I like that better.
10. Jealous-My other favorite on the album, and definately one of the most impressive songs Phil has ever written. It is almost like a rock opera and is based on the book of Hosea (for those who don't know, it's the book in which God has Hosea marry a prostitute to represent the unfaithfulness of the Israelites to Him). Starts out from the prospective of God and ends back in Phil's prospective where he abandons his selfish desires and surrenders everything he has to the Lord.

For those who haven't heard Phil, he has probably one of the most astounding voices you will ever hear. There's no mistaking that it is him singing, and his voice will give you chills when you can hear within it all of the passion he has for the Lord. (Although the Newsboys, or the band he used to be in did 2 worship albums, their worship albums seem to lack something that this one has.) I guarantee you will not be disappointed by buying this. (I'm not 13 by the way, just don't have an account.)

I love it. You can listen to some of the songs if you follow the links from [...] to Indelible Group. Great music, great lyrics, great message. Worth it.

If you like "Changed" and want to buy this CD because you think the rest of the CD will be the same kind of upbeat music, you will be very disappointed. The rest of the CD is extremely mellow. The song "Awe" almost makes you want to howl. This is my first experience with Phil Joel, I think if I was familiar with the Newsboys, maybe I would have known what to expect. I hate buying a CD because I heard 1 song that Rocks, then the rest of the cd is a JOKE! :O(