All Things New [ENHANCED]

Steven Curtis Chapman

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 21, 2004)
• Original Release Date: September 21, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Sparrow
• ASIN: B0002VYQ84
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,977 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Steven Curtis Chapman has done it once again. Raising the bar to stratospheric heights and surpassing even his own lofty perch (see 1999's brilliant Speechless), Chapman has recorded and released a rich pop masterpiece full of insightful and relevant material in the form of All Things New. While not an artistic or stylistic departure, Chapman has surrounded himself this time with a bevy of outstanding L.A. studio musicians. Given that and co-production duties he shares with the outstanding Brown Banister, Chapman's end product is a lushly textured sound that rides an ebb and flow of drama throughout the release's dozen tracks. The title track alone is one of the best songs and best-sounding songs that Chapman has ever recorded, a mini-epic that highlights Chapman's special power and passionate feel for music. A guitarist (and a fine one at that) by nature, Chapman actually bases many of the tracks here on piano while topping them with a lush, string-filled touch such as on "Angels Wish" and "Big Story." As always, Chapman insists on keeping it real when it comes to where spiritual rubber meets the road. "What Now" reminds Christians that how they care for fellow humanity is how they care for their savior. "Last Day on Earth" is another track bound to challenge listeners to consider how well they are living their faith, especially if they knew today was their last. Chapman pulls no punches on All Things New as he issues a powerful and majestic-sounding call to arms for Christians to love the world around them as they love their God. --Michael Lyttle

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Things New, Same Great Artist, September 29, 2004

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I've been a Steven Curtis Chapman fan since I first discovered his music in the early 90's with "For the Sake of the Call." Since then, I have eagerly awaited each new release, and I continue to be rewarded. This CD is no exception.

The first few notes of this CD made me stop. They were piano! And that isn't the only time we get treated to piano on this disc. It's most obvious in "Angels Wish" and "Treasure of Jesus." We also get more ballads and some wonderful melodies. Not that there aren't some fun upbeat songs like "Only Getting Started" and "Coming Attractions." Through it all, the words are still wonderful.

Honestly, if I were going to list favorite songs, it would probably be easiest to list least favorite songs. "Big Story" is really the only one I haven't connected with yet. He tackles quite a range of subject here, from praise in "All Things New" and "Much of You" to the very serious subject of living for eternity in "Last Day on Earth," finding Jesus in the least of these in "What Now," and surrendering to Him in "Coming Attractions" and "Please Only You." While some of these are familiar themes for Mr. Chapman, he manages to breathe new life and provide a new challenge with them.

My favorite song on here is "Believe Me Now." This song is written from God's point of view and is a reminder that the God we worship, serve, and believe in is the same God that spoke the world into being and performed all the miracles we read about in the Bible. Seems to me no matter how often I think of this and say I know it, I still need reminders constantly of where my faith should be.

This is a disc that will appeal to the adult contemporary crowd. Fans will love it and be begging for more. If you wonder why Steven Curtis Chapman has such a big following after all these years, you need look no further then this CD to find your answer.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars His finest ever, July 12, 2005

By	Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Steven Curtis Chapman has been at this for a long time (since 1987) so naming this "All Things New" takes a lot of nerve. In this case, though, it's more than fair.

For the first time, Chapman wrote a lot of songs on piano first rather than his acoustic guitar (He actually plays piano on 5 of these numbers). That, and using top notch mixers Jack Joseph Puig and Chris Lord Alge, have made this an SCC CD that sounds like no others.

Vocally, he's taking more chances, swooping into falsetto and doing arpeggios at times, and the production's using his voice in new ways: filtering it, making it alternately breathy and full-throated. Electronics (drums, scratching) are incorporated as never before to give him another angle to his sound.

I'm going to take issue with those as referring to this as "adult contemporary". That's music with all the edges sanded off to make it "inoffensive"...this is just the opposite. This is Chapman striving to make ART...if you come along, fine...if not, he's not going to dumb it down for you.

HIGHLIGHTS:
The title track begins quietly, just Chapman's piano, before slowly building in intensity and finally bursting into a swirling guitar encased chorus. It's fitting that Chapman's anthem to God's creativity and restorative impulses is married to a tune that speaks of his own willingness to take risks. "Last Day on Earth" is a nudge to "seize the day" from a Christian perspective. ("If this should be my last day on Earth/How then shall I live?") "What Now" reminds us of Jesus' call for us to "do unto the least of these" as He's embodied in first a foreign orphan then a homeless man. ("I know I may not look like what you expected/But if you'll remember/This is right where I said I would be/You found me....what now?") "Coming Attractions" anticipates Christ's coming kingdom, but asks to be a representative until then. ("Let your kingdom come in me/Let your will be done in me/Here on Earth as it is and as it will be in Heaven") A Greek bazouki adds some spice to the sound and a stuttering guitar in the mix recalls Evanescence. "Angels Wish" is a tender ballad that reminds me a bit of Five for Fighting. Here, SCC tries to explain the wonder of God's grace in terms of His kingdom at large by pointing out that despite angels' proximity to God, we as humans have a better experience: that of those who have felt what it's like to be chained and then set free inside by Christ. ("The grace of God has raised me up/To show me things the angels long to look into/And I know things the angels/only wish they knew...")

LOWS:
The lyric to "Please Only You" is fairly gimmicky and a coming of age song to his daughter ("I Believe in You") keep this out of 5 star territory. They're not bad, but they are somewhat cliched.

BOTTOM LINE:
He's created other fine efforts but I really feel this is raising the bar. The more I hear it, the more I want to hear it. I have the feeling in 3 or 4 years this will be acknowledged critically as his masterpiece. Highly recommended.

4 1/2 stars

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God-centered at the Core, October 3, 2004

By	J. H. Mulkey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I could not have been more pleased with this album. SCC has definitely matured spiritually as well as musically. I believe "Much of You" is the epitome of his musical career. Why? Because this song proclaims the goal of the whole of human history: the name and renown of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, the lyrics of this song were inspired by the words of pastor John Piper:

"We were rescued from sin in order that we might see and savor the glory of God. This is the ultimately loving aim of Christ's death. He did not die to make much of us, but to free us to enjoy making much of God forever."

(...)

I could go on comparing the different musical nuances on this album to other albums like so many other reviewers are doing. But that would miss the point of the album. "All Things New" (the album title) is meant to point us to King Jesus, the One who makes all things new in our lives. The One who gives us new affections -- affections for His glory and not for sin. He is the one who enables us to lay down our lives in love for the sake of His matchless Name. He makes ALL things new! Worship Him as you listen to this album (often with your hands raised)!