Louder Than The Music

Newsboys - United

Artist:

Newsboys

Title:

United

Type:

Album

Released:

10 May 2019

LTTM Rating:

Readers Rating:

(3 votes)

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Review

United, the history-making full-length recording from Christian music supergroup Newsboys, is now available. The FairTrade Services watershed release celebrates the return of former members Peter Furler and Phil Joel alongside Newsboys’ Michael Tait, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein and Jody Davis. Bridging the iconic band’s past and present.

The 10-song set was produced by Furler and Geoff Duncan and features four selections co-penned by Furler. Highlighted by the hit debut single “Greatness Of Our God,” a triumphant worship celebration showcasing Furler and Tait on lead vocals, the project also includes “Love One Another,” with guest vocals from former dcTalk member Kevin Max;...
Read More United, the history-making full-length recording from Christian music supergroup Newsboys, is now available. The FairTrade Services watershed release celebrates the return of former members Peter Furler and Phil Joel alongside Newsboys’ Michael Tait, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein and Jody Davis. Bridging the iconic band’s past and present.

The 10-song set was produced by Furler and Geoff Duncan and features four selections co-penned by Furler. Highlighted by the hit debut single “Greatness Of Our God,” a triumphant worship celebration showcasing Furler and Tait on lead vocals, the project also includes “Love One Another,” with guest vocals from former dcTalk member Kevin Max; pulsing praise anthem “Only The Son (Yeshua)”; “Symphony,” a call to complete surrender; and the worshipful “Set Me Ablaze,” which was originally recorded by Bethel Music and written by Mia Fieldes, Bryan & Katie Torwalt and Jacob Sooter.

Newsboys United have played more than 150 shows together since reuniting in 2018. The supergroup headlined the 43-city Winter Jam Tour Spectacular earlier this year and recently joined forces with multi-Platinum, multi-GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith for “Surrounded & United: The Tour.”

I had many questions about this album. How were the band going to work with two frontmen? How would they sound together ? Who would sing what? Both Furler and Tait are amazing vocalists yet both are very different in their sound and delivery.

So what we get out of this super group is a ten track album that is solid and safe. Furler and Tait in some songs take turns to sing lines which sometimes works brilliantly, and others make it feel sometimes a little disjointed. Yet when they come together, for example in a chorus, they sound brilliant. And that's when we see them at their best.

I would even say that here is an album that is perfectly set up for Christian Radio, especially the first half of the album. The album gets more creative, and I would even say better, the further it goes on. 'Worth Fighting For' starts off sounding like U2's famous track 'I Will Follow', 'Fearless' is a stunning song and 'Never Setting Sun' is by far the best track on the album - it has an 80's vibe and is a beautiful story track.

It must have been really hard for the band to get the balance right on this release. With so many band members having their own view and point to put over, that can sometimes lead to disagreements. But this record ticks the majority of the right boxes. Maybe for the next release we could see Newsboys stand out a bit more, musically, but for now this album will definitely please fans who go to see them on their massive tours.

Review by Jono Davies

LTTM Rating 4 Out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
Worth Fighting For
Never Setting Sun
Fearless

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Track Listing

Newsboys - United

Listen

Review

Video

Articles

Newsboys Bow Special 'We Believe' (Live From Home) Video

Newsboys Deliver Hope And Humour With 'Love One Another' Music Video

Newsboys 'United' Debuts At #1

Highly Anticipated Newsboys 'United' Album Released

Newsboys Stand 'United' With History Making Album

Newsboys - Symphony

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