Charlie Hall: "On The Road To Beautiful"

Title: Exodus
Category: Praise & Worship
Artist/Group: Charlie Hall
Rating: 3 / 5

I Will Overcome My Drink On The Road To Beautiful Chasing Waking Up Beautiful Of Heaven Swimming From the Shipwreck All The Earth Priceless Treasure The Rising Shout Holy Heart Sending

Charlie Hall!!! Charlie Hall!!! Charlie Hall!!! Charlie Hall!!! Charlie Hall!!!

I’m psyching myself up to write this review. I’m not exactly sure why but I’m having a very, very hard time writing this article. I am on my 5th draft and I am absolutely resolved that this will be the last. I’ve had this CD for over two months now and I’m afraid that I’ve gotten myself on the dreaded Multimedia Committee hit list. It’s not that I don’t want to write it. It’s not that I don’t have the time. I’m just confused.

Charlie Hall is best known for his contributions to the various 268 Passion Generation worship albums as well as leading worship at One Day and various other Passion projects. Hall has written such classic worship songs as "Give us Clean Hands" and "Salvation." On The Road To Beautiful is Charlie Hall’s 3rd solo album since hitting it big with Passion. On The Road To Beautiful is also not a worship album, well at least not in the way we’re used to viewing worship albums.

I’m confused because I don’t know how to write this review. Everyone assumes that this album is a worship album, but it really isn’t. You can’t really just plop one of these bad boys on the overhead projector and start singing it. It’s really more of a musical narration of one man’s personal journey with God. It’s very hard to review let alone critique something so personal to somebody else. That being said, I move on.

My wife loves Charlie Hall. He’s ‘her favorite’ as she likes to say. I really like Charlie Hall too, but I couldn’t say that he’s ‘my favorite’. That spot is reserved for Mr. Bobby Brown. Now I know that you’re all thinking, “Come on Steve, Bobby Brown is everyone’s favorite.” I usually aim to think outside the box but come on, Bobby Brown is Bobby Brown. But I digress.

I really like Charlie Hall. I like him because he writes songs that don’t quite fit the ‘norm’. I like him because he has a shaved head and still teaches youth group at a church that he helped to start. I like him because when you listen to his songs, you know that every word comes straight from his heart regardless of rhyme or reason. I like him because it seems each song he writes is reflective of every little step he takes closer to God.

On The Road To Beautiful is no different. In the album liner, Hall writes, “the songs on this album come from moments in valleys and moments on mountains… lyrics created from victory and heartache but great intensity of pursuing God.” If you read the rest of the album liner you see that every song is inspired by Scripture. If you listen to the album, you know that every song is inspired by his walk with God.

That being said, musically the album is not all that it can be. The first track on the album, "I Will Overcome," introduces a surprising new musical element – piano. Nathan Nockels, one-half of Watermark, a frequent Passion collaborator and Hall’s childhood friend, both produced the album and played piano. Two of the first three songs feature the piano and I immediately thought to myself, “someone’s been listening to a lot of Coldplay”. Unfortunately, only one of the remaining nine songs really features the piano. The piano actually adds a lot to the songs that it’s featured in. Hall and Nockels would have been better off if they featured more of the piano. But I guess that was their prerogative.

The highlight of the album is definitely the third and title track. "On The Road To Beautiful" is one of those rare songs that you listen to over and over again first because it’s just so pretty, and then because you realize the lyrics are just so powerful. The song starts off with Nockels’ understated piano and Hall’s underrated, yet powerful vocals. Eventually, the song builds up to a crescendo while keeping its two strongest elements in the forefront – the piano and vocals. The lyrics are a perfect example of Hall’s true talents as a songwriter.

Father come to me, hold me up, ‘cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short, I can’t reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven’s own bright King
So in faltering of victory I will always sing – I love You

The rest of the album fades into itself. Other than the second track, "My Drink" (a nice, slightly edgy rock song), and "All the Earth" (the other song featuring Nockels’ piano), none of the other songs really stand out musically. Lyrically, all of the songs have something to offer. The problem with most of the songs on this album seems to be the mixing of the two elements to form a memorable offering.

I’m not exactly sure what the standard is supposed to be. Is it – should I go out and buy this album? It seems nowadays with the proliferation of downloading songs (both legally and illegally) that folks will only go out and buy the ‘must have’ albums. Albums like Jars of Clay’s debut album, U2’s Rattle & Hum, N’Sync’s No Strings Attached, or DJ Doc 3's A Winter Story. Is On The Road To Beautiful a must-have album on the level of these? No, not really. In the end, one really, really, really good song does not make an album. But it does make a download.

On The Road To Beautiful is a worship album, it’s just not fashioned in the mold that we’re used to. Charlie Hall pours out his heart for God into every song and that more than makes up for a lack of musical ingenuity. Now that I think about it, maybe I wasn’t that confused after all. Maybe I was just lazy. Please, please multimedia committee – don’t be cruel.

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