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Let me start by saying I rarely buy a CD. I have Spotify free, and pay for Google Play's unlimited streaming. Almost every album I want can be found on one of these, and I also listen to Pandora quite a bit. This album can be found all three places, yet I spent the money and bought it anyway.
In a Christian music "industry" that is inundated with artists who are only using Christian music as a stepping stone to the mainstream, and/or seem to care more about record sales, radio airplay, and amount of Dove and Grammy awards than spreading the Gospel - Tim Timmons is a breath of fresh air.
Timmons, a family man and cancer survivor, has a fantastic backstory. Look up some interviews on Youtube. That reflects in his music (this is not his first album, by the way - only his first major-label release). This isn't necessarily an album that you can pull out your steering wheel drumset for, but it's one we could all stand to hear. The music itself is very high quality, sincere, believable vocals, soft guitars and piano, catchy rhythms. The lyrics, however, are the main positive of this album. Do yourself a favor and make sure you have the chance to actually listen to the words of this album a few times through when you have the opportunity to actually focus rather than just putting it on in the background.
I tend to call out the standouts on an album in my reviews, but I want to discuss each song.
1. "It's Your Revolution" - This is a song about God's revolution. But not the typical song about what WE are doing, can do, or should do. It focuses on the revolution being God's, and not ours. Fantastic, upbeat tune. 4/5
2. "Starts With Me" - The lead single from the album. It echoes the sentiments of the first song, with the idea that while we all want to be a part of God's revolution and want to do big things and great things - it starts inside ourselves first. We have to be right with God and be with Him constantly in prayer before we can do anything else. It opens with the following verse:
What can I do to leave a legacy?
How can I speak with authority, when I can't see You?
I can't see You
How can I know the dreams You have for me
How do I believe beyond what I have seen, when I can't hear you,
I can't feel You now?
An upbeat piano melody. 5/5
3. "Cast My Cares" - the second single. This one again puts the focus on the Lord - he's the only one strong enough to handle all our burdens and loves us enough to do it. Because of that, we can cast our cares onto Him. 5/5
4. "You Remain" - This one discusses how, after everything we go through, no matter how lost and ashamed we are, He remains. God doesn't leave us alone, no matter what. This one has a slower, melodic, piano-y feel that fits well with the lyrics. 5/5
5. "Christ in Me" - from the interviews I've seen on the web, this one seems to be a favorite of Timmons himself. The concept of this one is not that Christ IS in us - we know that to be true - but what if WE actually believed it? What if we actually believed, and lived as if, the love that hung on the cross, lived in us? Think about that. An positively upbeat tempo rather condemning feel to this one, and with an allusion to "Amazing Grace." 5/5
6. "Let's Be Beautiful" - by far, my favorite song ont he album where lyrics are concerned. The most convicting lyrics I've heard in a while. 5/5, I'll let the first verse do the rest:
Everybody waits for the moment the bride comes out;
Open up the doors and watch her walk down the aisle
Is she lovely?
Is she shining?
Is she looking at the one she loves?
Everybody's watching; what are we all about?
When we open up the doors, is religion all that walks out?
Are we lovely?
Are we shining?
Are we looking at the One we love?
Or is His glory divided because we're looking at ourselves too much?
7. "For Your Glory" - This one is a song filled with a steady, subtle drumbeat. It discusses His glory, and how even the stuff of life that is tough to get through, and hard to fathom, is used for it. 4/5
8. "I Will Follow Love" - This one, musically, has that element that makes it a good song to fall asleep to. The soft guitars, soft vocals, quiet lyrics. 5/5
9. "Great Reward" - this one has almost the feel of a church hymn. The style of the lyrics, the quiet, muted pianos make this one a pleasant, authentic worship song. 5/5
10. "Holy Unafraid" - Much more upbeat than the previous two tracks, but still maintains the overall serious feel of the album, this song is a prayer to the Lord, asking Him to lead the way in our lives, allowing us to be "holy unafraid." 4/5
11. "Only One Standing" - the final track opens with a reference to the house built upon the sand, a man who built his confidence outside of God's will, and has realized what it's done to him, praying to the Lord to "surrender all, and would You let my kingdom fall?" A great tune that serves as a wonderful reminder that we need to keep our own egos/selfish desires in check and let Him do the work in our lives. 4/5
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