Description
Personal Worship 2 is an album by the British singer and songwriter Dave Bilbrough, released on Kingsway Music in September 2000.
Dispensing with the safety net of his full backing band for this recording, here is an album that presents Dave Bilbrough from a different angle. Away from the responsibilities of leading others in worship, one of Christendom’s most prolific songwriters can be heard close up, offering his own personal worship to God. The style is unashamedly acoustic honouring his folk roots, featuring Dave’s voice and guitar sensitively accompanied by a small ensemble of musicians.
The result is a worship album that is creative and original containing 12 new, powerful and melodic songs from the heart of a modern day psalmist. [Note printed on the back of the CD]
Come rain or shine in any given day when I’m at home there’s a certain inevitability about my activities. At some point in time I will climb the steps which lead to my music room at the top of the house. Sitting with guitar resting on my knee, I’ll find myself absorbed in the process of song writing. Chords, words and musical phrases have always held a certain fascination to me particularly when fused together with worship. Somehow I find myself being able to give vent to my feelings to God in the most fluid and articulate way I know. Nurturing those feelings and bringing them to birth as songs is so rewarding.
Some songs come as a gift, spontaneous moments that the Father gives. Others can prove more elusive. This latest collection comes from a thankful heart to my Creator God as I’ve endeavoured to make my worship more tangible, real and personal.
There are songs that speak of grace and hope, the bedrock of our faith. “Has your heart ever been moved”, tells of the beauty of creation, my response to the things all around us. It’s so easy to miss seeing the fingerprint of God in the familiar as we hurry through the day. “Holy, Holy” is a reminder of the transcendence and undiluted purity of our God enthroned in the heavens. Our praise will always create an expectancy of His coming, hence the reason for the inclusion of “Prepare the way of the Lord”, a song of proclamation and intercession.
Sometimes we can hide behind our sophistication, getting more caught up with the wrapping paper than with the gift itself so I’ve left the musical accompaniment intentionally sparse with just guitar, piano and a few other acoustic instruments and effects. Through this recording I hope I have captured the essence of these moments in worship. Come and join with me and offer your personal worship in gratitude to God.
– Dave Bilbrough [Album liner notes printed in the CD insert]
Dave Bilbrough talks about his album Personal Worship 2
As a songwriter my songs always derive their first expressions on my trusted acoustic guitar. Many of them start out as simple prayers to God or carry a message of what he is speaking into my life. It seemed natural, therefore, to return to that stream for this album which was part of the Personal Worship series produced by Kingsway. Unashamedly acoustic, Nick Haigh on fiddle joined me again alongside Steve Criddle (keyboards and accordion). Pat Bilbrough developed much of her percussion sounds on this album.
Running parallel with the experiences of that time was a new project that I’d begun to develop which was my attempt to crossover to an audience beyond the church with the Good News. Based in a small, intimate London theatre I began to put together an evening of songs, stories and testimony reflecting my spiritual journey, but also being an opportunity for some fun and entertainment. I was really trying to re-present the message of some of my songs to an audience that would not be comfortable in a Christian worship gathering, but to do so in such a way that did not compromise the spirit of worship which I believe should be accessible to all human beings. One or two of the songs on ‘Personal Worship 2’ were born out of that context. This album was also an opportunity to work for the first time with my close friend Matt Hay who has gone on to produce many albums for me and remains a close friend. [Excerpt from the article “Dave Bilbrough: Artist Output – The worship leader talks about his releases so far” published in Cross Rhythms, April 2009]
This latest album from the veteran of UK praise and worship is as the name might suggest, deliberately stripped down to create an intimate approach to worship using only acoustic instruments. Amongst the host of big budget worship albums currently causing the racks of many a Christian bookshop to creak, this is a refreshing change. No sign of horn sections, swaying choirs or searing guitar breaks here, just a bloke with a guitar singing songs to his Creator. Although a lot of Dave’s songs find their way into most popular song books, I don’t feel that this album was necessarily intended as a resource. Nevertheless, some of the songs would lend themselves very well to corporate worship such as «Jesus, Jesus, I Love Your Name», «Grace And Mercy», «I Will Trust», «Holy Holy Is The Lord», and «Prepare The Way». «Heart Ever Been Moved» is an evangelistic song calling people to observe the world around them and consider the God who made it all. Another song though, «Fiddle And the Drum» with its Irish jig feel, reminds me of The Beautiful South! The whole ethos of the album is to encourage the listener to take time with God in worship alone and not be so busy that we miss it. A fine album from one of the UK’s most enduring worship leaders. [Keith Singleton, Cross Rhythms, February 2001]
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CD tracklist:
01. Gold Or Silver – 3:40
02. Carry Me – 3:24
03. Fiddle And The Drum – 3:52
04. Jesus How I Love Your Name – 3:16
05. Words Of Love – 3:33
06. Grace And Mercy – 2:40
07. The Voice Of God – 4:50
08. Heart Ever Been Moved – 2:49
09. I Will Trust – 4:09
10. I’m On My Knees – 4:16
11. Holy Holy Is The Lord – 3:22
12. Prepare The Way – 4:04
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