Offerings II: All I Have to Give

by

Third Day

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1,000 words or less? My "short" review was quite a bit longer. You can find a copy of it here. I received a pre-release copy of this CD several days ago, and listened (no exaggeration) for nearly 12 hours that day. I couldn't stop. Amazingly, this CD manages to capture the spirit of worship in a musical style that I can listen to LOUD, while driving, while working, while sleeping... It is incredible. It is 100% about worship - and each song goes about that in a different way. Some of them are on-your-knees, cry-your-heart out intimate, and some of them are stand and sing as loud as you can praise music. Some of them will depend on your current mood. It was almost scary in that each song sounded like it was meant for me that day - each one spoke right to me. The live tracks are mixed extremely well, which is good. Michael Tait singing with Mac on God Of Wonders adds a whole new dimension. The cover of You Are So Good To Me is probably the best I've ever heard anybody perform the song. I hesitate tos ay 'perform' because this isn't really about Third Day performing, it's about them worshiping and US worshiping. I honestly can't say enough about this album. Check out the link above for a more in-depth review.

After a string of faultless releases, it seems Third Day came up with their first miss since Conspiracy #5 (or as with the case of that album, a lesser shade of pretty good). I would not call it bad, especially at a time that truly good releases seem very hard to find, but it certainly does not live up to the luster of the previous 3 projects. The passion and fullness that poured out of all of the tracks of Offerings just does not seem to be there for most of the album (with some exceptions). The eclectic style of Third Day that is usually a big plus seems to be a problem with this album, as it never really establishes an overall feel that permiates all of it's works. Instead it seems like a bunch of stuff that is thrown together for no good reason other than to fill the album. If you do not have previous albums Time, Come Together, or Offerings, get them first. They better showcase Christian music's best rock group. If you already have those three, try Daily Planet's Hero. If you must, buy this album. It is not bad, but you will find it sitting on the shelf while you play the others mentioned. If you are willing to buy albums based on the quality of just a couple songs, by all means, buy this one. "You Are So Good to Me", and "God of Wonders" are pretty good high points.