Sixstepsrecords / Sparrow Records
Release Date: October 2nd 2020
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Passion – REIMAGINED (EP) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do (feat. Kristian Stanfill) [Reimagined / Tide Electric Remix]
- Worthy Of Your Name (feat. Sean Curran) [Reimagined / LØ Remix]
- Glorious Day (feat. Crowder) [Reimagined / Abe Parker Remix]
- Holy Ground (feat. Melodie Malone) [Reimagined / Jeff Lawson Remix]
- Build My Life (feat. Brett Younker) [Reimagined / AMUNDRUD Remix]
Passion, the band (or should I call it a worship movement, or even a global initiative headed by pastors Louie and Shelly Giglio?) has been around for ages, quite literally. Being a movement that has been a phenomenon since its inception in the late 1990s, as founder Louie and Shelly Giglio became pastors of one of the most influential global worship movements that anchor its message of hope and worship within the sphere of influence of young people; Passion and their music ministry has been focused on reaching a lot of younger people, from high school to university students across the world. Annually, more than 50,000 18-25 year olds from a variety of countries and across the states of America, trek towards various domes and stadiums in America for the annual Passion conference. Three days and nights of teaching and learning, of worship and encouragement, Passion has always been about bringing together young people as they declare the name of God, hear renowned speakers like Louie Giglio, Christine Caine, Beth Moore, Francis Chan and John Piper, and just generally be inspired through song, sermon and being around fellow young people going through similar circumstances and issues. With the Passion worship arm within this movement comprising of many sixsteps Records artists, from Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Crowder and Brett Younker, to Melodie Malone, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman and Charlie Hall; the three days in January are full of worship led by these aforementioned artists, alongside a few surprising guests (over the years they have comprised of Colton Dixon, Kari Jobe, Carrie Underwood, Lecrae and Hillsong UNITED to name a few).
So we fastforward to 2020. We as a site have reviewed plenty of Passion albums over the years- see the collective link of the reviews here; and so we have been blessed to listen to a variety of great worship songs over the years- ‘Even So Come’, ‘Remember’, ‘My Victory’, ‘Simple Pursuit’, ‘Glorious Day’, ‘Build My Life’, ‘This We Know’, ‘God, You’re So Good’, ‘Follow You Anywhere’, ‘Bigger Than I Thought’, ‘There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do’, and ‘All Praise’, are just some of the many, many songs over the years that have come from Passion annual conferences, and songs that have travelled not only to Sunday morning church services, but into our hearts and our homes as the years have progressed. And so what has been unveiled these past few weeks are the release of 5 tracks in the form of an EP titled Reimagined. Here are 5 songs from Passion, all from their 2017 album Worthy Of Your Name (except the song ‘There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do’) that are reimagined and remixed, presented with an array of electronic undertones that can hopefully bring in the younger crowd and remind us all that worship music doesn’t always have to follow one strict and straight formula. It doesn’t always have to sound like Bethel Music and that’s ok. And while for me I’ve felt that these 5 songs are presented with mixed results, overall this EP does the right thing- reminding us that remixes done right (‘Build My Life’, ‘Glorious Day’, ‘There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do’) can create a space and atmosphere where we invite younger people in, and remind them that worship doesn’t always have to be a bore that they themselves have even believed up until this point.
Passion will always hold a special place in my heart- it was the movement and music that I listened to, that led me to in turn listen to artists like Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Crowder, even Christy Nockels and Kristian Stanfill, and now more recently, Sean Curran and all his solo stuff too. And while right now, artists like Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Christy Nockels are off doing their own thing; Passion will always be a worship movement that reminds me of the days where discovering new artists was (and still is) a good thing. While the remix EP isn’t perfect (‘Worthy of Your Name’ is miles too short, the remix feels choppy and disjointed, and the song just ends abruptly in the middle of it…was that intentional?), the overall vibe and the intention of it was spot on. This is an album to listen to if you want major nostalgia harkening back to Worthy of Your Name (the album), or if you want to be reminded of the tenure and stick that some of these songs from a few years ago have, even now in this current 2020 year where we’re reminded that certain songs by certain artists remain timeless ahead of others. And more often than not, songs from Passion provide us all with congregational worship that brings us all into a space of declaration and proclamation, which is needed most certainly now during this global pandemic. An EP that is certainly a fun listen; this is a must have for any Passion music fan, or if you love remix albums that don’t always botch up the song entirely. Kudos to Kristian Stanfill and the worship team for this EP, can’t wait for Passion 2021 and the music of next year. Hoping some great songs are birthed out of this not-so-great season of 2020, whenever these songs are to arise to the surface.
3 songs to listen to: There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do, Glorious Day, Build My Life
Score: 4/5
RIYL: Vertical Worship, The City Harmonic, Jesus Culture, Bryan & Katie Torwalt, Newsboys, We The Kingdom, London Gatch