Customer Reviews

Not to Us

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had no idea that Chris Tomlin wrote so many of the praise and worship songs I just love. I found a lot of them on this CD. What an anointed musician he is. What a wonderful CD to have to keep me in a constant state of awareness of the presence, power and love of my Savior!

Not to Us is focused on giving God the glory, praise, and thanks He deserves. It's about recognizing God as the Creator and the Master.

Chris Tomlin is an anointed worship leader, genuine songwriter, and talented musician. He has been involved with the Passion and One Day albums and is known for songs, such as "Famous One," "Indescribable," and "How Great Is Our God," which are all Bible-based. Chris Tomlin's songs are sung directly to the Lord; they are a dialogue and come from the heart. Chris Tomlin is one of my favorite worship leaders, and if you like his style, check out albums by Tim Hughes, Chris Joyner, Matt Redman, Delirious?, Passion Worship Band, and David Crowder Band.

Synopsis of Songs:
Everything-The theme of this driving song is "every perfect gift comes from You."
Enough-This dynamic song is popular on Christian radio and cries out the theme: God is more than enough for me.
Not to Us-This song focuses on giving God all the praise: "not to us, but to Your name be the glory." It exclaims, "it's all for You," and has a similar beat to the first song on the album.
Wonderful Maker-This light tune contains vivid lyrics and describes the Father of Creation and our Father; Chris Tomlin sings about how the Majestic God created the earth, how He sent His Son to the earth, and how He whispers to us as His children.
Famous One-This is a popular song, being played on Christian radio and sung in many churches. It has a unique rhythm in 6/8-time. It is energetic and gives God the praise.
Come Let Us Worship-I love this simple song of invitation to worship.
The River-This high-energy song refers to being soaked and cleansed in the river of God.
Unchanging-This worship song refers to God's unchanging nature and His faithfulness.
Come Home Running-This is a quiet, folky song and has a Michael W. Smith feel. It encourages the prodigals to "come home running."
Overflow-This song questions, "Where would I be without You?" and talks about how God fills his children.

This Chris Tomlin CD (Not to Us) is incredible. From the music, the vocals, the driving guitars and the passionate heart after God, every track leaves you longing for more of the Lord.
Seeing Chris Tomlin lead worship live several times has convinced me that he truly desires that the focus be "not to us" but only God's name be given the glory. He lives out what he sings. Chris Tomlin writes songs that you can sing. Also he writes songs that let you express your love for God in new ways, none of the lyrics leave you feeling like you've heard it somewhere else before. Praise God that He has given Chris the ability to find new ways of expressing our wonder of our God. The music here is amazing, too. David Crowder Band is close, but this is the best modern worship CD that I have heard this year, maybe ever (only time will tell).

I don't know how Chris Tomlin keeps doing it. This album is one that sets the standard for modern worship music. You've probably heard almost half this album already in worship services everywhere. "Not to Us" is one of my all-time favorite songs, powerful, rockin', and shades of U2. "Come Home Running" is a beautiful, thoughtful song that is the opposite in tempo but an equal in quality. I'm astonished by the variety of songs on this album and it has to be one of my all-time favorites of this genre. You can't go wrong.

This album is full of sincerity and truly glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ! It is loaded with memorable and heart changing tunes.
Chris Tomlin is very much focused on bringing glory to God and not upon himself.
He has the right attitude and it really comes across in his beautiful songs.
I saw Chris in concert last year with Rebecca St. James on the "Worship God" Tour. Chris had a way of bringing each individual spectator at the show into a truly authentic worship experience with him. It felt like I was right on stage with him, worshipping before the throne.
His energy and enthusiasm for his music comes through loud and clear. Chris is someone who truly loves God with all his heart!
My favorite song on the album is, "Famous One." It rocks, it is earnest and very sincere. It is an anthem to just how great God really is!
Buy this album, it will fill you with joy and awe. You can't help but get blessed when you hear it!

OK, this has to be one of the best worship albums ever. Every song on the album has truth and is honoring to God. I especially like "Enough".

I have one word for this CD 'INCREDIBLE'.
It is simply the best CD on the market today despite any genre.
Every song is excellant. A must have for any CD collection.
Even the used market still has the price around $10 and it has been
out for several years. If you don't have this cd you must buy it.

Yes, David Crowder Band is my favorite to listen to, but this is the ultimate in corporate worship. A praise and worship band could easily do a whole set of just these songs and the crowd would sing along loud with every word. My favorites include: Enough, Not To Us, Wonderful Maker, Famous One, Unchanging, and Come Home Running. But let's face it, there's not one bad song on here. And judging how good "Arriving" was, Chris Tomlin has proven that he is the real deal. He has a great voice, great song structure, and you will always find a bible-centered message. This CD is timeless and I will have it forever (or until the CD disintegrates from being overplayed!).

I bought this album for two reasons: I had grown to enjoy Tomlin's worship songs and for the song "Famous One". When I first bought the album, I listened to Famous One repeatedly and loved it. I think it's one of the best, worshipful songs on the album. Personally, I love the idea of worshiping God as the most "famous" one in our universe. We frequently think of God in terms that are often outside of our way of thinking (omnipotent, unchanging, holy are terms that I think of). It's not to say that there's anythign wrong with this type of worship, but we often forget that God is all of those things and also the more intimate things that we really recognize on a daily basis.

Anyway, that was a tangent. Famous One is a great song, but don't short change this record for this one song. The entire album is great and comes highly reccomended. If you like worship and praise music that takes advantage of modern music and modern mixes, but also want something that is clearly worshipful and Christ-centered I highly reccomend "Not to Us".

Chris Tomlin is best known for his work on the Passion worship projects. His songs have appeared on the two I COULD SING OF YOUR LOVE FOREVER collections, and his first album, THE NOISE WE MAKE, highlighted his songwriting talent and ear for accessibility. There are many fine songwriters giving us new worship songs today, but Tomlin's songs are especially melodic and easy to sing to and, let's face it, just plain fun most of the time. NOT TO US personifies all that is great about Tomlin's music. I generally prefer live worship albums but this is a great exception. The album opens with a bang and holds on to the level of energy and passion through the final cut. And unlike some worship-oriented music out there these songs are not only well written but lend themselves ideally to the corporate worship setting.

The better songs include "Famous One," which speaks to the glory of God, "Unchanging," a song of adoration, and "Enough," which expresses the desire to let God truly satisfy your deepest longings. The title track is particularly well done, turning the focus of what we do in worship away from us and back towards God, much like Redman's "Heart of Worship."

There is a plethora of modern worship album now available. At times it seems almost overwhelming, and a bit sad when you consider that some seem to be doing it for the easy sales (contrary to the "Not To Us" message). Tomlin isn't one of them. And from a critical standpoint, on NOT TO US he has also raised his game. Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Shane Barnard, Charlie Hall... all great lead worshipers and songwriters. But for my money modern worship doesn't get any better than Tomlin's work. NOT TO US is the best of the bunch and the church should be viewing many of these songs as standards in the years to come. I give it a solid Five Stars.