Chris Tomlin: Gifted or Formulaic Songwriter?

Chris Tomlin's new CD "See The Morning" comes out today, so I headed over to a website called Jesus Freak Hideout, which is a great site for music news and Christian album reviews. I figured that after Tomlin's last CD was reviewed so favorably, that this would be the same. I was surprised to find this scathing review:

----

See The Morning: 2 1/2 stars (out of 5)

With most of his well-known songs firmly entrenched within church services nationwide, it seems that Chris Tomlin has stumbled upon a songwriting formula that thrives on predictability and conformity, rather than innovation. Tomlin's songs are so ubiquitous and inherently formulaic that hearing an entire album of all-new material still rendered me with an uncanny sense of familiarity. Although innovation might have been too much to ask of this project, this sense of formulaic unoriginality, combined with consistently unexceptional songwriting, was more than enough to sink See The Morning.

As a worship album, See The Morning is unassuming at best, and downright predictable at its worst. The songs on the album sound pleasant enough at first listen, but soon all blend together due to their unwavering adherence to existing formulas. Since they all rise and fall out of the same mid-tempo worship mold, there is nothing here that will stick out after one or two listens. Some songs are also unnecessarily repetitive, as "Glorious" and "Glory In The Highest" rely a bit too heavily on their title refrains to carry the chorus forward. While Arriving was blessed with a handful of amazing singles, there isn't anything as powerful as "How Great Is Our God" or as captivating as "Holy Is The Lord" on this album.

Lyrically, See The Morning is likewise unremarkable as Tomlin spouts out undistinguished refrains of awesomeness and glory towards our Creator ("Our God reigns," "How Awesome is the Lord Most High," etc). The fact that most songs can be encapsulated neatly within their titles says a lot about the level of lyrical depth within this album. The bottom line is, we've heard this all before. Worship music isn't especially known for its creativity, but the problem with repetition this blatant is that See The Morning loses its impact with each successive listen. That Chris Tomlin resorted to giving his listeners uninspired (and seemingly re-written) versions of the same songs is disappointing to say the least, and frustrating when you know that he is capable of more.

Ultimately, this is the sound of the reigning Dove artist of the year resting on his laurels and refusing to expand beyond the predictable formula that has garnered him success (including five Dove awards) in the first place. Disappointing as it is however, this album will still no doubt still be consumed by most worship music fans looking for something safe to place in their CD players long after their copies of Arriving have been set aside due to overbearing familiarity.

----
Wow. Here's the thing: I respect what Chris Tomlin does, and I wish I could write worship songs like he does. Yet at the same time, I agree somewhat with the reviewer. However, I think you have to review Chris Tomlin's material in two different ways. On one hand, Tomlin does an excellent job of writing worship songs that are easy to sing and that will resonate with congregations. One of the difficulties of being a worship leader is to pick songs that are interesting enough lyrically and musically to play, yet are "simple" enough for a congregation to pick up the worship song easily. Tomlin's songs are generally simple and easy to follow. On the other hand, if I'm looking for worship songs that are going to challenge me, inspire me mysically, and make me think, Tomlin isn't the one I choose. David Crowder appeals to me much more in that way. But Crowder's songs are harder to introduce to the church: his lyrics can be cryptic, and the musicianship of his CDs is hard to imitate.

After listening to the brief snippets of Tomlin's new CD, it almost sounds like I'm listening to his last CD, Arriving, again. One song (Uncreated One) sounds like "Mighty Is The Power Of The Cross" part 2, yet at the same time, none of the songs hit me with the same force as "How Great Is Our God" did the first time I heard it. I'm sure, however, I will buy the CD, and soon you will hear songs off of See The Morning being sung by our church and other churches across the world. What's funny is that I am introducing "How Awesome Is The Lord Most High" this Sunday to my church, which is off of See The Morning (although first heard on the latest Passion CD). Time will tell whether Chris Tomlin will be revered as someone who introduced a ton of new worship songs to churches everywhere, or reviled as one of the worship leaders who dumbed down worship for the masses.