Come Let Us Adore Him: A Christmas Worship Experience
(Various Artists)
Album length: 12 tracks: 37 minutes, 51 seconds Street Date: September 24, 2002
Essential Records struck gold when they released the first City On A Hill project in 2000. What
followed were two sequels and a Christmas project. Each album was excellent in its own right, joining all kinds
of artists together for new collaborative efforts. But the City On A Hill series ended and all probably
thought such projects would too. Enter Come Let Us Adore Him. This project sort of looks and feels
much like a follow-up to City On A Hill: It's Christmas Time, focusing on the worship side of the holiday.
Come Let Us Adore Him kicks off with a short ballad from newcomer Ana Laura entitled "Sanctus," which
she sings entirely in Latin. This leads into another hymn entitled "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord," performed by
Bebo Norman and Caedmon's Call's Danielle Young. The production team for Come Let Us Adore Him is essentially
the same from the City On A Hill series (Steve Hindalong and Marc Byrd), and so many of the songs
that this team arranged bear the same distinct sound. "Here With Us" is performed by the delightful
Joy Williams, who penned the original with worship leader Jason Ingram and Ben Glover. "Hail Almighty
King" features a few members from Caedmon's Call, as does "Silver Starlight." "King Of Angels" teams
16 year old Krystal Meyers with Day Of Fire's Josh Brown for the acoustic original from Hindalong, Byrd,
and Derri Daugherty. Probably the most intimate and most traditional in sound is found in Josh Brown's moving
rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful." But the song ends before it really can take off to its fullest
potential. As the second verse begins, "Sing choirs of angels," the music fades out and Christine Byrd's
signature angelic vocals rise as the song ends in less than two minutes. A unique and original arrangement
indeed, the song feels like it ends way too prematurely and robs the listener of what could have been the
best song on the record. But Jars Of Clay's "It Came Upon The Midnight Clear" is a wonderful acoustic
rendition in pure Jars fashion and is easily a highlight on the record. Third Day's cover of Julie Miller's
"Manger Throne" is also included, despite already appearing on the 2002 project City On A Hill: It's Christmas Time.
And made available for the first time since the hard-to-find Essential Energy Christmas in 2000,
Bebo Norman's "Mary's Prayer" is featured near the close of the record, rearranged to include a fuller
sound and Christine Byrd's soft vocals.
Come Let Us Adore Him is a wonderful Christmas compilation, but some of the originals on the
record could easily fade into obscurity in the endless sea of uninspired Christmas songs. This is not to say
all of the album's new songs are doomed to be forgotten; quite hardly, but because the production team has its own writing
style, a lot of their songs sound the same, despite who is supplying the vocals (and it's been this way since
the dawn of the first City On A Hill). But if you're a fan of any
of the artists on the album, or soft, acoustic-driven Christmas songs, or just looking for something a little
new if you're tired of hearing covers of "The Little Drummer Boy" everywhere you turn, than definitely
look into Come Let Us Adore Him.
- Review date: 9/24/05, written by John DiBiase
Record Label:Essential Records Album length: 12 tracks, 37 minutes and 51 seconds
Street Date: September 27, 2005
Sanctus - Ana Laura
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord - Bebo Norman/Danielle Young
Record Label: 
