Tim Hughes – Happy Day review
This is the first live album from popular UK worship leader Tim Hughes. Often with live music albums it can be easy to dismiss them as a quick cash in on the popularity of previously released studio albums by simply recording them again but in a live setting. And in many cases that accusation is fair. But not in this one.
Tim Hughes has done a great job here of ensuring you get value for money. Not only does this release include several brand new songs, but it also has re-jigged arrangements for some of the others. As well as that you get a guest appearance by 29th Chapter on the track Dance, Martin Smith pops up on Here I am to worship (which also has a class new final refrain), and Stu G from Delirious? as one of the musicians. Not only that but there is also a bonus DVD with video of the worship session it was recorded it (in London’s Sheppard Bush), a talk by Mike Philvachi and interviews with Tim about some of the new songs.
Throughout all the songs there is a real passion and authenticity to the worship, and I would honestly saw this is one of the best live worship recordings I have heard.
Of the new songs Give us your courage and Jesus saves stand out as ones that you can expect to hear in churches in the near future, and Dance is a great celebratory/praise song. Remember is a reflective song about the Cross and works well.
There is also the semi-new We won’t stay silent (it comes from Compassion:Art) which has a great message about speaking out for God and is a great tune as well.
As well as these new songs this CD/DVD set has some of Tim’s best songs – Happy Day, Consuming Fire, Everything, Beautiful One and God of Justice so if you don’t have original versions of those this is a great way to get them.
Overall Happy Day is a great buy for anyone into worship who doesn’t have a lot of Tim Hughes and has enough new material to be well recommended for those of you who are already big Tim Hughes fans and have all his studio albums.