Disco de Newsboys: “He Reigns: The Worship Collection”

First of all I am a Christian and proud of that fact so for me to review the Newsboys is an absolute honor.Being a musician,I love all types of music.Over the past several months now I have gotten deeply involved with Christian music.While listening to my favorite Christian Radio station KLOVE,I found out about the Newsboys among other artists.They are absolutely incredible.This collection of songs is not the only ones by them I have heard but I gotta give credit where it's due and it is with this cd.All the songs are awesome and I can not get enough of it.The lyrics are definately God inspired and the music is not only different but simply addictive.I can not understand the negativity with some of the reviews here and feel that anyone that loves the Newsboys should definately buy this cd because it is well worth it.Infact everyone should buy it.If I could give more stars for a rating I most definately would.A bazillion stars would still not be enough! The Newsboys shine like diamonds in my eyes and so does this cd.God Bless them!

Newsboys have joined that select group of Christian bands who have their albums of original work picked and prodded to create new albums either to meet contractual obligations or simply for the record company to make a few more bucks off of them. "He Reigns-The Worship Collection," is a compilation of works from four albums: 1999's LoveLibertyDisco, 2002's Thrive, 2003's Adoration: The Worship Album, and 2004's Devotion. The bulk of the album comes from "Devotion," which is funny since it was released only the previous year. All of the songs from it are excellent, with highlights being "Strong Tower" and "Blessed Be Your Name." In my opinion, the strength of this collection comes from the six tracks from the other albums. Starting the album is the wonderful "It Is You." This is quickly followed up by what I consider to be the Newsboys' signature worship song, "He Reigns." From there we are treated to gems like "You Are My King (Amazing Love)" and "Beautiful Sound."

All of the songs on this album are uplifting, inspirational and worth every penny you pay for them. If you enjoy light pop/rock sounds, then this is an excellent album for you. If you are already a fan of the 'Boys, you probably have most of these songs. However, if you've come into the game a little later or haven't listened to them in awhile, this is a great starter/refresher. I personally began listening to the group during their "Not Ashamed" years, tagged along for "Shine" and "Take Me To Your Leader," and listened to them off and on since the late 90's. They are an excellent group and this album does not do their entire sound justice. If your looking for a better all-around taste of this group, check out "Shine-The Hits."

After the success of the Newsboys' easy listening mega-hit "It Is You" (which had been labeled 'praise and worship' despite all of the Newsboys' previous pop/rock songs praising and worshipping God through their lyrics), the group decided to record a full-length album of material under the same theme, and the result was their best-selling and Grammy-nominated "Adoration: The Worship Album." The following year, "Devotion," a sequel of sorts with a similar meme as "Adoration," was released, to much less fanfare.

After the group moved on to a new record label (InPop), Sparrow Records was allowed to re-release the Newsboys' music through various compilations, and "He Reigns: The Worship Collection" became the first of many.

Unfortunately, the set, which could be viewed as a follow-up to 2000's "Shine: The Hits," since none of the songs are repeated, fails in many regards. Sure, the music is great, but its song selection is quite limited. With only 11 tracks, the disc clocks in at just over 45 minutes, much shorter than the 71 minute runtime of "Shine: The Hits," and nearly half the capacity of the standard 80 minute compact disc. Another 8 or 9 songs could have easily been included, and despite having released only two "worship" albums, there were far more than just two albums' worth of material to choose from to represent the group's softer inspirational output.

While the disc does include several songs outside of the "Adoration" and "Devotion" albums--"Thrive" (2002) is represented with "It Is You" and "Lord (I Don't Know)," while "Beautiful Sound" from "Love Liberty Disco" (1999) is included as well--nothing recorded earlier than 1999 is present.

Many great songs from their earlier albums have great adult contemporary praise and worship songs that would have fit in nicely on this set: "Be Still," "Let It Rain," "Breathe (Benediction)," "Let It Go," (all of which were hits on the Christian Adult Contemporary charts, and Top 10 hits on CHR radio) and even some songs that were already included on "Shine: The Hits" ("Believe," "Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus"), but if "He Reigns: The Worship Collection" is meant to be a companion to their first compilation, I would leave off those latter two songs mentioned.

Not only is the earlier part of their music career poorly represented, but the selections from their albums from 1999 and on isn't a perfect reflection, either. Sure, they include the major hits ("Beautiful Sound," "It Is You," "He Reigns," "You Are My King (Amazing Love)," "Presence (My Heart's Desire)," "Devotion"), but where is "I Surrender All," which was released as a single from the "Love Liberty Disco" album? Where is Top 40 hit "Adoration"? Why are there 5 songs from the tepidly-received "Devotion" album, but only 3 songs from the far-more successful "Adoration: The Worship Album"? Either "Great Is Your Faithfulness," "Father, Blessed Father," or most importantly, the aforementioned great title track would have been welcome additions from that album. And if they're going to include 5 songs from "Devotion," why include the forgettable "God of Nations" over the radio-friendly "I Love Your Ways" (or even the vastly underrated gem "The Orphan")?

Since the release of "He Reigns: The Worship Collection," the Newsboys have released a lot of hits that could also fit nicely on this type of a collection ("I Am Free," "In Wonder," "Stay Strong," "In the Hands of God," "We Remember," "Mighty to Save," "Revelation Song," etc.), and though it would have obviously been impossible to any of these songs in 2005, perhaps a better compilation could have been released had they waited a little longer to put out "The Worship Collection."

Here is my idea of what would have made a better selection of songs for "He Reigns: The Worship Collection" (presented here in a coherent chronological order): 1. "Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" 2. "Be Still" 3. "Let It Rain" 4. "Let It Go" 5. "Breathe (Benediction)" 6. "Believe" 7. "Beautiful Sound" 8. "I Surrender All" 9. "It Is You" 10. "Lord (I Don't Know)" 11. "He Reigns" 12. "You Are My King (Amazing Love)" 13. "Adoration" 14. "In Christ Alone" 15. "Presence (My Heart's Desire)" 16. "Devotion" 17. "Strong Tower" 18. "Blessed Be Your Name."

I know I included two songs (tracks 1 and 6) already represented on "Shine: The Hits," so if "He Reigns: The Worship Collection" was intended to be a follow-up, they should have scrapped the "worship" concept and called it "He Reigns: The Hits, Vol. 2," so you could cover some of the pop hits that were accumulated since 2000, as well as the major ones that were strikingly absent from the first set. Here would be an ideal song selection for such an album (again, in chronological order): 1. "One Heart" (their first #1 hit) 2. "Upon This Rock" 3. "Strong Love" 4. "Be Still" 5. "Real Good Thing" 6. "Let It Rain" 7. "Truth and Consequences" 8. "Let It Go" 9. "Breathe (Benediction)" 10. "Love Liberty Disco" 11. "Beautiful Sound" 12. "Good Stuff" 13. "It Is You" 14. "Million Pieces (Kissin' Your Cares Goodbye)" 15. "In the Belly of the Whale" 16. "He Reigns" 17. "You Are My King (Amazing Love)" 18. "Presence (My Heart's Desire)" 19. "Devotion."

I think either one of the two song selection lists I suggested above would have been more welcome, and stronger catalog sellers, instead of being dismissed as skimpy.

Present for my sister in law. She loved the song "He reigns" by the Newsboys and when she heard the total cd she wanted one for herself. Awesome group who loves the Lord. The lead singer Peter Furler became a pastor I believe in his native Australia. Michael Tait from DC Talk took his place and they say he does an awesome job.

The song "He Reigns" is one of my favorites...I was familiar with a few of the other songs , yet now that I've heard them all, it's hard to pick a fave! Wonderul......highly recommended..........