Without Our Aid, Promo Video, Plus a Ton of Free Resources

WITHOUT OUR AID IS HERE!

You can get the latest album from Zac Hicks + Cherry Creek Worship in a variety of ways.  We're making it awfully easy to get the album.

*Digital orders on our Discography Page

*Digital & Physical Orders - Bandcamp

*Digital Orders - iTunes

*Digital Orders - Amazon

FREE RESOURCES

Read all about the album here.  (production, style, art, vision, etc.)

Get FREE chord charts, lead sheets, tutorials, and more here.

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All About Our New Album, Without Our Aid

Without Our Aid is the second full-length release of Zac Hicks + Cherry Creek Worship, out of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO.  Their debut album, The Glad Sound, was their first hymns project, released in 2009, and between that time and the present, Zac has contributed to three other compilation projects with Cardiphonia: The Psalms of Ascents (March 2010) , Hymns of Faith: Songs for the Apostles’ Creed(October 2010), and Pentecost Songs (June 2011).

VISION

Without Our Aid is an experiment in songwriting for the sake of building bridges between two current camps in modern church music—the so-called “hymns/rehymn movement” and mainstream modern evangelical worship.  The album’s aim is to combine the energy and vitality of the modern worship sound (made most popular by groups like Passion and Hillsong), with the depth, theology, and historical connectedness of Christian hymnody across time.  From a songwriting perspective, the two do not easily go together: hymns are usually written in through-composed verses, while modern worship songs tend to have three and sometimes even four unique sections (verses, choruses, bridges, and “surprise” refrains or endings).  Though hymn purists might decry the liberties taken in bending and arranging the original hymn-texts, and though modern worship connoisseurs may consider the texts too verbose and archaic, our passion for greater growth and unity convinces us that Without Our Aid is a unique and worthwhile project.

STYLE & PRODUCTION

The goal of Without Our Aid was to create an album which sounded live in order to capture that more tangible “moment” of corporate worship.  It is not a live album in the true sense, mostly because our current setting does not have the bandwidth to be able to pull off a live recording.  However, the recording was pieced together in the “live” setting of our reverberant, 900-seat, traditional sanctuary, employing ambient mic techniques for all the major instruments.  A backing choir of approximately 20-30 voices sang through the album multiple times; those sessions ended up being powerful times of worship themselves.
Stylistically, Without Our Aid is best characterized as a “modern arena-worship” record—big drums, driving electric guitars, layered synths, crowd noise, and a live “congregational” sound.

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FREE Pre-Release Song from Our New Album - Get it Now!

FREE PRE-RELEASE SONG
FROM WITHOUT OUR AID (9/13/11)

Hello, Readership.  In an effort to drum up support for our new album, Without Our Aid, we're asking you to pass this link along to anyone and everyone you know (tweet it, FB it, email it).  We're giving away one of our best songs on the album, "Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus," absolutely free...we just ask that you tell others about it. 

"Hail" is probably the best all-in-one representation of the musical, philosophical, and theological aim of the Without Our Aid.  It has a live feel, energetic rhythm, great drumming, layered electrics, modern worship-styled vocal melodies, and unbeatable lyrics (I can brag, because I didn't write them). 

GO GET THE SONG HERE (this link will only be available until Tuesday, September 13, so get it while you can!). 

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Song Reflection: "Angels from the Realms of Glory"

In preparation for the release of our album, Without Our Aid, on September 13, 2011, we've begun a series of posts reflecting on the hymns incorporated into the project. 

For those who worship in more liturgically-oriented contexts, you're probably familiar with the fact that the Christian "new year" doesn't line up with our calendar's new year.  Our new year happens a month earlier than January 1, when we begin the season of Advent.  Advent is a season of hope, fostering faith by looking back (to Christ's first coming) and looking forward (to Christ's second coming).  It is at once historical and eschatological.  "Angels from the Realms of Glory" is a hymn that perfectly fits this paradigm.  In fact, the first verse paints a beautiful picture of how the angels themselves share in history's timeline:

Angels, from the realms of glory
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
You, who sang creation's story,
Now proclaim Messiah's birth.

The entire hymn is a series of direct addresses, summoning the four corners of the world to come and worship Christ, the newborn King.  Each verse crescendos from the previous--angels, shepherds, saints, all creation--summoning heaven and earth to herald the arrival of our great King. 

Musically, if there's any time of year in which modern churches become a bit more "traditional," it's during the Advent/Christmas season.  My worship leader friends who serve in modern worship contexts have a love-hate relationship with this period, because it often means departing (at least a bit) from their musical standard fare.  "Angels from the Realms of Glory" was written to help mitigate this tension.  While I hope that the Church in any age utilizes music in its worship from every age, I also recognize that, in an effort to build bridges for this to happen, it's a worthy endeavor to contextualize texts into modern musical idioms.  "Angels" is perhaps the best illustration on Without Our Aid of this endeavor.  It is our most aggressive song, set in a driving, "semi-punk" style.  This particular musical setting is fitting, because it captures the joy and frivolity of the hymn text.  It's sure to offend lovers of the traditional tune and accompaniment ("Regent Square," written by Henry Smart in 1867), but our target for this song is not that crowd.  Our goal is to invite listeners who have never heard this glorious hymn to enjoy its rich poetry and pregnant meanings for the first time.  Hopefully, this setting can be a "gateway drug" toward appreciating its original music, as well.  Here are the words:

Angels, from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
You who sang creation's story,
Now proclaim Messiah's birth.

Shepherds, in the fields abiding,
Watching o'er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing,
Yonder shines the infant Light:

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!

Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear:

All creation, join in praising
God the Father, Spirit, Son;
Evermore your voices raising
To th’eternal Three in One:

Lift up your heads, you mighty gates;
Be lifted up, you ancient doors.
That the King of Glory may come in,
Let the King of Glory now come in.

All hail! All hail King Jesus!
All hail! All hail Immanuel!
All hail! All hail King Jesus!
All hail! All hail the Prince of Peace!

Words: James Montgomery, 1816; Zac Hicks, 2009 (add’l lyrics adapted from Psalm 24)
Music: Zac Hicks, 2009
©2011 Unbudding Fig Music (ASCAP)

Song Reflection: "All People That on Earth Do Dwell"

In preparation for the release of our album, Without Our Aid, on September 13, 2011, we're beginning a series of posts reflecting on the hymns incorporated into the project. 

Many do not realize that the Protestant Reformation was just as much about worship as it was about doctrine.  In fact, reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin would have seen little division between the former and the latter.  Luther championed three emphases in particular, which all serve the goal of elevating the congregation's participation in worship against the backdrop of the passive, clergy-driven liturgy of the medieval Church:

(1) The priesthood of all believers
(2) Worship in the vernacular
(3) Scripture and doctrine in the hands of the laity

As the Reformation spread, a revolution in songwriting occurred, and Christian musicians began reaping the harvest of writing songs in their native tongue.  It was an exciting time.  In England in the 1500s, the dominant strain of the Reformation was that of Calvin, whose own worship emphases strongly advocated the singing of Psalms.  And in 1562, a fresh edition of newly Anglicized hymns appeared, commonly referred to as "Sternhold and Hopkins," the editors' names.  Many of those metrical psalms (psalms set to poetic meter) have fallen into disuse, but one has endured and can still be found in some hymnals today--"All People That on Earth Do Dwell," by William Kethe.  This hymn is a metrical version of Psalm 100, one of the most popular psalms in the Bible.  Our album, Without Our Aid, gets its title from the second line of the second verse, emphasizing the sovereignty and power of God over against the helplessness and inability of humanity.

Our setting of the psalm is a driving, mid-tempo arrangement, with an added chorus that is nearly completely derived from Psalm 100 (NIV).  Of our songs, it has been one of our congregation's favorites for several years now.  The song's ending repeats the psalm's final words ("for the Lord is good and His love endureth forever...") over and over again.  It is a "surprise refrain" in the sense that it introduces a new melodic and harmonic section of the song, painting the picture that God's eternal, heavenly love and faithfulness are like nothing we've experienced before.  We sing it repeatedly to emphasize this eternality and to offer a moment of meditation on this portion of Scripture.

Here are the words:

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with joy, His praise forth tell,
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

Know that the Lord is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His folk, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship Him with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful songs!
Praise the Lord, all the earth!
Enter with thanksgiving;
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!

O enter then His gates with praise,
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? The Lord our God is good,
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

For the Lord is good,
And His love endureth forever,
And His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Words: William Kethe, 1561; Zac Hicks, 2009 (add’l lyrics adapted from Psalm 100)
Music: Zac Hicks, 2009
©2011 Unbudding Fig Music (ASCAP)
Winner of the Church of the Servant 2010 New Psalm Contest
In memory of Ben Fackler

We're Making Our Second Album

I’m excited to give my readership a view into our second album, Without Our Aid, due out in September 2011.  Tracking, for us, will be a months-long process, hopefully completed in mid-spring.  Our first album, The Glad Sound, was a more studio-style, pop-produced worship record, complete with percussion loops and rhythmic synths.  Without Our Aid takes the same concept of old hymns to new music in a slightly different direction.

THE SONIC GOAL

In short, Without Our Aid is attempting a more live, “arena worship” sound—big drums, big guitars, big “stage-presence,” lots of verb, and lots of voices.  It is not a live album, but it will give off that air.  Since The Glad Sound, we at Cherry Creek Worship have grown in our musicianship, and the music—especially the drums and guitar work—will reflect that progression.  The drumming is very aggressive and at a few moments unconventional. Our vocalist roster has expanded to an additional female member, so four tracks on the album (as opposed to two on The Glad Sound) will be broken up between two female leads.  I am singing on the other eight songs, but I’m hopeful that this is continuing a trend toward greater distribution of lead vocals among our singers as God continues to develop our talent and pave the way for new records.  The instrumentation, over all, is a bit more limited to the typical rock band makeup—guitars, keys, bass, and drums—with the occasional peppering of other instruments here and there.  Perhaps unlike many other “modern hymns” albums (e.g. Indelible Grace, Red Mountain Music), this album is less musically introspective and more up-beat.  If you’ll forgive the violence of the metaphor, some hymns albums present the gospel by bringing you to your knees; this hymns album is a gospel-punch to the face.

THE SONGWRITING GOAL

The songwriting goal is to take the wedding of old hymns to new music into a structurally experimental direction.  Modern worship has stretched the boundaries of “traditional” contemporary songwriting forms.  They’ve creatively mutated the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-chorus structure and added more layers.  Sometimes those layers are in the form of pre-choruses, and at other times, they are manifested in “surprise” fourth and fifth sections, elevating the middle or the end of a song to a different plane.  The songwriting goal of Without Our Aid, for many of the songs, is to see if traditional, through-composed hymnody can fit (and fit well) into some of these more progressive forms and expressions.  All the songwriting for Without Our Aid began with this vision in mind, so, compared to the more piecemeal feel of The Glad Sound, this album will have more cohesion in its style and direction.  I had wished to do more collaboration in songwriting on this album, but I haven’t found many attempting to take hymns in some of the directions I had taken them on this project, so collaborative efforts proved a bit more challenging this time around.  There will be other projects, though, and I know my material will be better when I am honing melody, harmony, and structure alongside the other great songwriters across the country I now know, love, and appreciate.

THE THEMATIC AND TEXTUAL GOAL

The album’s title comes from the second verse of “All People That on Earth Do Dwell”:

Know that the LORD is God indeed,
Without our aid He did us make.

The phrase is less of a unifying theme for all the songs and more of a statement of how we view our posture and the posture of these hymns in relation to God—subservient, humble, self-effacing, God-exalting.  God has been forming and shaping the music on this album…and He has been doing it “without our aid.”  Still, the phrase is very much a part of what is the unifying theme of the album—the gospel.  From top to bottom, the hymns selected for Without Our Aid drip with the good news of Christ Jesus as our all in all: good news that though we are poor and needy, Christ is rich in grace; good news that though this life is hard, we await a greater glory and peace; good news that salvation has come for sinners like you and like me; good news that our hearts find more rest and more peace the more we are captivated by the splendor and glory of God through Jesus Christ.  The track listing below helps visualize the gospel-unification of Without Our Aid.

THE TRACK LISTING

Sola – a short entrance/processional song centered on the five "solas" of the Reformation, asking Christ to be our worship leader.

All People That on Earth Do Dwell – an energetic setting of Psalm 100, one of the first Protestant hymns penned originally in the English language.

Angels from the Realms of Glory – a raucous advent hymn, heralding the good news of Christ’s first and second comings.

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory – a haunting setting of a great eschatological hymn about Christ’s return in power and glory…good news that is sobering.

Be All the Glory Thine – a “call to worship” hymn (Joseph Hart’s “Once More We Come Before Our God”) that summons our sluggish souls to joyfully take up the “duty” of gospel-response in worship.

Firm and Unmoved Are They – a setting of Psalm 125 which offers comfort in God’s steady peace and hope…Christ is not explicit, but He is everywhere implicit in this psalm.

Hail Thou Once Despised Jesus – angsty verses and soaring choruses, with an additional bridge quoting straight from the book of Revelation: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever.”

Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness – a slightly disco-funk-style fight-song (it sounds weird, but it's fast becoming a "cult favorite" among those involved in making this album), full of the victory and joy of the cross and Christ’s meritorious righteousness.

Jesus Christ is Risen Today – a reverential beginning, and a pounding bridge and chorus…very different from the traditional through-and-through triumphant setting of this well-known Easter/resurrection hymn.

Lord, I Believe – a sincere and heart-wrenching Communion hymn.  My favorite line, perhaps on the whole album, is: “I eat the bread and drink the wine / but O, my soul wants more than sign / I faint unless I feed on Thee / and drink the blood as shed for me.”

How Firm a Foundation – An alternate setting of a great hymn, with an additional bridge and chorus that more explicitly tie it to Psalm 46.

O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright – The oldest hymn on the album (ca. 4^th century), with the Gloria Patri as the chorus.  A climactic album ending with low lows and high highs.

THE SPECS

Produced by Zac Hicks
Engineered by Michael Brumley & Zac Hicks
Edited, Mixed, & Mastered by Josh Davis
Art & Design by Dave Farmer at Element 24

Great New (Old) Worship Songs for Advent and Christmas

(Updated December 2011)

For this Christmas season, or if you’re thinking ahead to the next, here are some modern worship style Christmas songs.  They’re great historic hymns that we’ve set to new music which carry Advent/Christmas themes.  They aren’t “updated” standard Christmas carols.  They’re old hymns that modern worship has all but forgotten.  But they’re worth reviving, and here they are: 

All Ye Gentile Lands Awake

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | lead sheet | video tutorial | about

A mid-tempo, indie-style song, with themes of light and confession.  For liturgo-philes, it’s technically a song for Epiphany, but works very well for Christmas.

Angels From the Realms of Glory

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | lead sheet | video tutorial | about

An up-tempo, drum-heavy number that works well as an opening song.  It’s refrain invites people to “Come and worship.”

Hark the Glad Sound

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | lead sheet | video tutorial | about

A driving 4/4 song that works great with dotted-eighth delayed electrics and powerful drums.  Its chorus encourages us to shove the idols off the thrones of our hearts so that Jesus can come and reign.

Lo He Comes with Clouds Descending

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | lead sheet | video tutorial | about

A foreboding, mid-tempo, Coldplay-style Advent hymn that speaks about Christ coming in power, glory, and judgment.  This song isn’t for sissies.  It’s a fan-favorite from our first album, The Glad Sound.

O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | lead sheet | video tutorial | about

A mid-tempo song that builds from soft to loud, filled with themes of light and God’s glory.  One of the oldest Christian hymns we still have (4^th century!).

Psalm 76 (God is Known Among His People)

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | lead sheet | video tutorial | about

An upbeat, funky, even gospel-style number that rejoices in the power of God, trampling over His enemies.  The bridge walks through Isaiah’s titles for Christ (“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”).

The Word of Life (In a Byre Near Bethlehem)

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | about

An Irish pub-style number that walks through the story of Christ’s life, from birth to resurrection.  It’s got an earthy chorus and a singable melody that everyone loves.  Everyone.

There is Room

lyrics | mp3 | chord chart | lead sheet | video tutorial | about

A slow, graceful piano-led ballad that, in recounting the story of Jesus coming to earth, asks Jesus to come to our hearts.  Very melodic, and perfect for an offering.