I’ve been doing a few pretty heavily CCM-influenced worship groups lately, so why not add another to the mix, eh?

Phil Wickham is giving his whole live album Singalong away for free download to anyone who signs up for his newsletter (go here if you haven’t yet).  I know it’s just a scam to get contacts, which translates into fans, money, popularity, and spread of his message.  I know it’s just one of the best, cheapest forms of advertising available, and I’m becoming a pawn of the marketing system by participating, but I don’t care – Phil Wickham is still a really nice guy.

I’d heard of Phil Wickham about five years ago from a friend of mine who said, “Hey, you’ve gotta check out this guy Phil Wickham.  He’s amazing!”  So I checked him out and thought, “Eh, he’s not bad, but I’ll pass.”

Since then, however, he’s been refining his sound and creating some great music.  It’s pop-rock worship stuff, but it’s got a lot of passion to it.  I really like the live Singalong album – recorded at Solid Rock Church in Portland, Oregon, on May 9, 2008, with 3000 fans present, it shows how passionate he is when he leads worship.  Stripping away everything but Wickham, his guitar, and 3000 worshipers, I think the album captures the energy and excitement better than any of his other albums.

To get a glimpse of that passion and energy, check out this video of him playing the song “True Love” live in-studio.  He also goes into a little background about the song.

Some of the songs on the album are pretty mellow and almost melancholy, but I really enjoy the album as a whole.  There are a few really incredible worship songs here, like “Beautiful,” “Because of Your Love,” “Divine Romance,” and “True Love.”  Man, this guy can write some great worship music.

What about Wickham himself?  He seems like a really cool guy.  According to Wikipedia, he grew up in a Christian home, with parents who had played in a Jesus People band.  At twelve years old, Wickham began leading worship for his youth group, and later he began writing his own praise and worship songs.  From there, he’s recorded four albums and toured the world with the likes of MercyMe, Audio Adrenaline, David Crowder, and The Myriad.

Go ahead and download my two favorite songs and then head over to Phil Wickham’s official site to get the whole Singalong album for free.  I told you, he really is a nice guy:

Beautiful – Download – Stream
True Love – Download – Stream

Website: www.philwickham.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/philwickham

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