Yfriday - Great & Glorious

Published Thursday 28th May 2009
Yfriday - Great & Glorious
Yfriday - Great & Glorious

STYLE: Rock
RATING 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 78536-15442
LABEL: Survivor SURCD5151
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 2
EXTRAS: bonus DVD
RELEASE DATE: 2009-04-10
RRP: £14.99


Reviewed by Ian Thomson

Since their conception as a band in 1994, Yfriday have always been associated with church worship. Recent albums have captured their core energy, but the arrangements and construction of the songs have restricted access for thousands of churchgoers countrywide. Not so with 'Great & Glorious'. In keeping with a new direction for the band, here is an album that goes out of its way to be accessible. In fact, I don't think I have ever bought such a user-friendly CD. The cover contains all the songs' lyrics and chords; guitar-oriented worship ensembles will find this easier than to follow than a tow-truck. Further, check out the bonus DVD, which features video footage of Ken Riley teaching the guitar parts for six of the songs. Most useful is the extensive stripping-down that Yfriday have achieved. Gone are the inimitable high-notes of "Revolution". In their place we have the joy-filled title track which combines the power of Yfriday with lyrics and music that won't sound out of place in chapel on a Sunday morning. Songwriting contributions from Tim Hughes, Matt Redman and Andrew Neve have gone a long way to helping Yfriday make the transition to full on purveyors of congregational worship but in the process show that Ken Riley has developed to become one of the world Church's top composers of corporate worship songs. If you, like your reviewer, are still looking for a bit of complexity, the brilliantly titled "You Will Not Steal Our Children", co-written with Martin Smith, brings an esoteric change to the mood. It's not often you find Christian worship songs addressed to the devil! The production from Sam Gibson is exemplary too and it seems a strong possibility that after the huge success of Riley's "Everlasting God" the great American public will now embrace a superb band that have been blessing us Brits for more than a decade.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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Product Description
GREAT & GLORIOUS sees a fresh focus for one the UK’s hardest working Christian Artists. The Universal Broadcast heralded the end of one era for the band but following a renewed call from God the band are firmly focused in leading people in worship. Last year also saw Yfriday’s Ken Riley become the first Christian artist to receive an ASCAP award for being one of the top 20 most played songs in USA for his co-write with Brenton Brown on Everlasting God.

This new batch of songs sees co-writes with Delirous’ Martin Smith and Worship Central’s Tim Hughes. Some of the songs have already been used on the band’s pre-Christmas tour. With Delirous co-producer Sam Gibson, the band have crafted a contemporary sounding album that crosses into congregational worship which both inspires and challenges. The launch of Great And Glorious coincides with the band leading worship this year at Spring Harvest and ECG Events. A full UK tour will follow later this year. The album will also include a bonus DVD which will feature a guide to playing the songs for a smaller gatherings.

Tracks include Come Let Us Worship, Alive, You Are Great, Great and Glorious, Saviour and Friend.

Reader Comments

Posted by Dave Baker in Newcastle Upon Tyne @ 03:35 on Jun 20 2009

Watching this band evolve their sound through the years from me being about 11 or 12 right through to now (im 22 now) has been an absolute pleasure.

It's a natural progression in sound for them and still has that essential essence that makes yfriday's music what it is, however it's a completly new angle thats so different from previous efforts, it totally works and is a little peice of awesomeness.

The thing that I like most though is the album reflects the band as a whole. yfriday are simply one of the most genuine group of people you could ever hope to meet and their passion for god just drips off, so hearing an album captures their hearts for god in such an pure way is incredibly special.

Long live yfriday's ministry and message, it needs to be heard!



Posted by Emma in Leicester @ 20:49 on Apr 11 2009

Am very excited at the release of this album! Have been waiting for Saviour and Friend since seeing YFriday live back in November, and I can finally listen to it!



The opinions expressed in the Reader Comments are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms.

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