Prime Cuts: "The Manger to the Cross," "It's Christmas Time Again," "Day of All Days" (with Terrian)
Overall Grade: 3/5
Chris Tomlin knows how to turn Christmas into a congregational singalong. Take a familiar carol, add a new chorus or bridge, give an established worship song some Christmas lyrics, and introduce a handful of originals built for easy participation. Good News of Great Joy (Christmas Songs of Worship) follows that well-used template. Tomlin has travelled this road before, as have fellow worship leaders such as Matt Redman and Darlene Zschech. The question is how much fresh material the formula can still yield.
Across these eleven tracks, the answer is enough for a pleasant seasonal collection, though hardly an essential one. This is essentially a worship album with Christmas sensibilities. Its strengths are familiar: accessible songs, a clear devotional purpose, and choruses that congregations can quickly make their own. Its weakness is equally familiar. Too often, Tomlin's reliable approach to the anthemic ballad has become a substitute for a more distinctive song.
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Comfort and Joy)" illustrates the problem. The traditional carol gains an extended passage applying its promise of joy to various experiences, followed by a verse connecting Christ's birth with his resurrection and reign. The additions make sense devotionally, but the repeated declarations also demonstrate how readily a compact carol can become another extended worship exercise. More words do not necessarily bring greater depth.
"Holy Forever (Christmas)" raises a related concern. Its rewritten verses place the familiar anthem in Bethlehem, while its central declarations of God's holiness and supremacy remain. The connection between the angels of Christmas and the song's heavenly worship is perfectly reasonable. Nevertheless, adapting an existing favourite provides an easy route to recognition, and the result offers little surprise for listeners already acquainted with the original. The return of "Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy)" further reinforces the sense that Tomlin is revisiting dependable material.
There are, however, songs worth making room for. "The Manger to the Cross" supplies the album's strongest lyrical focus. It follows Christ's coming through to his suffering, death and resurrection, giving the Christmas scene a clear sense of purpose. The connection itself is hardly new, but the song develops it coherently. Its worship grows out of what it says about Jesus, giving its declarations more substance than a string of interchangeable phrases of praise.
"It's Christmas Time Again" offers a welcome change of subject. Family gatherings and seasonal rituals give the writing a domestic setting before it turns towards the meaning of Christ's birth. The imagery is conventional, but its modest ambition works in its favour. There is room on a Christmas album for a song that enjoys the season's ordinary pleasures.
"Day of All Days," featuring Terrian, also earns its place among the highlights. Its concise invitation to adore the newborn Christ suits the simplicity of its language. It makes its point without needing an elaborate argument, and its directness offers a useful counterweight to the album's more extended declarations.
Good News of Great Joy will serve listeners seeking familiar worship for December. Several songs deserve a place in that rotation. As a complete album, though, it relies too heavily on methods Tomlin has already used successfully. The sincerity is evident. The sense of discovery is harder to find.
