1. From the Rising
2. His Awesome Glory
3. Take, Eat This is My Body
4. In Him
5. This Treasure
6. Mercy Falls
7. Love Came Down (Pietà)
8. What I Know About Myself
9. Magnify
10. And Can It Be
11. Learning How to Read (I Wish That I Could Fly)
12. O Sacred King
13. In the Palms of Your Hands

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• Purchase Mercy Falls CD: $15.00 + S&H

• Coming soon to iTunes.

In a day when so many music releases are billed as “worship recordings,” one might ask, what exactly is a worship song?  Is it a simple song that people everywhere can sing together as a declaration of praise?  Is it a spiritual “journal entry” in which a songwriter explores his or her passion and faith?  Is it a memorable setting of a key biblical passage?  Or perhaps it is all three?  In his newest recording entitled Mercy Falls, Dan Radmacher has carefully collaged a set of original and non-original worship songs which lead the listener in both explicit praise and implicit worship. Alternating between simple songs in which all can participate and complex songs of wonder and reflection, Dan beckons to the listener to join him on a journey of God-ward adoration and spiritual discovery.

In this effort, Dan has enlisted the considerable talents of the worship team at Christ Church of Pasadena, the venue where he leads worship.  The combination of their unique abilities has created a pastiche of musical heights and depths, spiritual exclamations and explorations.  Dan comments:  “The team at CCOP is one of the most amazing that I have ever worked with, as their spiritual sensitivity is truly equaled by their musical ability.”  Indeed, this group of musicians not only performs at an extremely high level, but they bring an honesty and authenticity to the effort which securely grounds their “performances” in gut-level, face-to-the-ground worship.

The songwriting does the same.  From the Rising reverently ushers the listener into a holy place of worship where God palpably reigns, then explodes into the gospel-choir backed His Awesome Glory.  Take, Eat This is My Body introduces Kip Taylor on lead vocals in a soothing, yet stirring invitation to Christ’s fellowship.  The heart of the recording draws the listener from the powerful alternative track In Him through the gentle, lilting sojourn of This Treasure to the title track, Mercy Falls, an incredibly inviting setting of Psalm 27 with a gospel feel.

Love Came Down punctuates the middle of the recording, a lament from the perspective of Mary at the foot of the cross, co-written with Laura Keverian Pitts.  And Can It Be is a cool, languorous setting of the original Wesley lyrics, but with a groove reticent of Chris Isaak or Jeff Buckley.  Maybe the most moving and original song on the whole recording is the back-porch shuffle Learning How to Read, which welcomes the listener into the existential yearning for an experience of God.  With a disarmingly gentle groove, it asks us to consider painful questions of spiritual reality that lie right beneath the surface of its subtle, Norah Jones-esque mood.  The recording finishes with an inspiring rendition of Matt Redman’s O Sacred King with African hand drums, and a stripped-down acoustic ballad entitled, In the Palms of Your Hands.

On the whole, this recording welcomes the listener to travel down an eclectic path of musical discovery and enjoyment, spiritual consolation and challenge.  Worship songs are uniquely joined together to become a coherent whole, a true worship experience.