Matthew Smith All I Owe Detuned Radio Records Praise & Worship 10-24-2006

SCORE 90%

First off, Derek Webb puts it much better than I can: "Matthew Smith has such a gift for weaving heavy and ancient hymn texts together with modern melodies and musical arrangements. But mysteriously, he manages to do this in a way that neither dates itself or follows trends.” Smith does add a lightness, a freshness, that lifts these melodies well above any plodding heaviness we may associate with hymns. The instrumentation of All I Owe, generally organic and again light, also adds to the general brightness of the project, and Cason Cooley’s impeccable production only helps. Smith’s arrangements are reminiscent of Caedmon’s Call’s rootsy intelligent feel.

Matthew Smith is the frontman of the Indelible Grace hymns movement, serving up on solo project All I Owe ten fresh interpretations of hymns both familiar and lesser known. The Indelible Grace crew, in an effort to re-introduce the public to the rich theology, beauty, and passion of hymns, writes new music for the hymn’s original, majestic lyrics; it is a movement finding great success, especially, and surprisingly, on college campuses. It doesn’t hurt that the crew happens to include some of the industry’s finest thinkers and players (Webb, Sandra McCracken, Andrew Osenga, among others), but it is the Biblical truths of the hymns themselves resonating among listeners hungry for beauty. The language of “His Love Can Never Fail” and “Thy Blood Was Shed For Me” provides a sumptuous feast for the soul, especially given the “feed-me-do-for-me-satisfy-me” orientation of some of today’s popular music.

All I Owe is bookended by the two most familiar hymns, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” setting a mellow, shimmering tone immediately with its organic instrumentation and Smith’s soft vocals. The bouncy Byrds-like pop-rock tempo of “His Love Can Never Fail” lifts the energy level up nicely, but it is the moving and melodic “Thy Blood Was Shed For Me” that first reveals the impact and power of this new hymns approach. The track’s acoustic intimacy allows the potent lyrics to really hit home personally, hammering home the truths of salvation over Cooley’s shimmering piano. Songs like this one explain the eager acceptance to the hymns movement being found on campuses nationwide.

“How Helpless,” written by first female hymn-writer Anne Steele, opens dramatically, moving ever so slowly into lyrics both gutsy and poetic: “How helpless guilty nature lies/ Unconscious of its load/ The heart, unchanged, can never rise/ To happiness and God/ Can nothing less than power divine/ The stubborn will subdue?/ ‘Tis Thine, eternal Spirit, Thine/ To form the heart anew.” Smith’s passionate entreaty adds energy, but some listeners will find its tempo and language still bleak. It’s not a track for the faint of heart.

Guitar lovers will enjoy the most uptempo track “None Above,” for its beautiful nuanced strings, notably the twelve-string adding muscle and bounce to the energetic track. Cooley’s airy programming, Smith’s expressive vocals, and the taut strings of “My Lord, I Did Not Choose You” make the compelling track another standout. Again, the lyrics add to the spiritual feast: “My heart knows none about You/ For Your rich grace I thirst/ I know that if I love you/ You must have loved me first.”

The artistic ambience of All I Owe, together with its rich lyrical power, makes this an album of interest to the thinking believer.