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Open Heaven / River Wild
Live album and Video album by
Hillsong Worship
Released16 October 2015
Recorded29 June – 3 July 2015 at Allphones Arena in Sydney
GenreContemporary worship music
Length67:42
LabelHillsong, Sparrow, Capitol
ProducerMichael Guy Chislett
Hillsong Worship chronology
No Other Name
(2014) 		Open Heaven / River Wild
(2015)
Singles from Open Heaven / River Wild
  1. "One Thing"
    Released: 15 September 2015

Open Heaven / River Wild (stylised as OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild) is the twenty-fourth live album of Australian contemporary worship group Hillsong Worship, which consists of several worship pastors from Australian church Hillsong Church. The album was recorded during the 2015 Hillsong Conference at the Allphones Arena from 29 June until 3 July 2015 and was released on 16 October 2015, under Hillsong Music, Sparrow Records and Capitol Christian Music Group; this marks the first time the church's annual worship album was recorded entirely during the conference,[1] as opposed to the annual July releases that coincide with the event.[2] Michael Guy Chislett oversaw production of the album, while Hillsong co-founder and senior pastor Brian Houston and his son, worship leader Joel Houston, served as executive producers. The album recording was also filmed and released in DVD on 16 October 2015, which was the same day as the album's release.[3]

Open Heaven / River Wild features several prominent vocalists of Hillsong, including Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston and Marty Sampson, as well as the Hillsong United band and the Hillsong Young & Free group. Following the Easter release of "O Praise the Name (Anástasis)", the album's lead single, "One Thing", was released in 18 September 2015. Additional promotion included media appearances from Hillsong and tours around North America and Europe. Critical reception to Open Heaven / River Wild was positive, although some reviewers noted that the album adheres to Hillsong's formulaic sound and structure.

Background

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On 14 June 2015, Hillsong global creative director Cass Langton announced through a blog post that the recording of the next annual live worship album will be at the 2015 Hillsong Conference at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia, marking the first time the album would be recorded entirely during the conference,[4][1] as opposed to the typical July releases that coincide with the event.[2] Recording for the album at the conference took place during 29 June - 3 July 2015, with around 25,000 people in attendance.[5][6]

On 17 August 2015, Hillsong released a teaser video on various social media accounts; the title of the album as well as the cover art and the 16 October release date were announced the next day.[7] It is the second album from the group to be under the name "Hillsong Worship", following the release of the previous year's No Other Name (2014), after releasing their previous albums under the "Hillsong Live" moniker.[8] In September 2015, a trailer for the album was released to YouTube,[6] along with the track listing for the album,[9] as well as the vocalists of the songs.[10][11]

Composition

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Michael Guy Chislett, a member of the Hillsong United band,[12] served as producer, performed electric guitar, and arranged strings for Open Heaven / River Wild.[13][14] Chislett previously produced several albums for other Hillsong music divisions, including previous worship album No Other Name (2014), and various United and Young & Free albums.[14] Hillsong Church's co-founder and senior pastor Brian Houston was credited as an executive producer, alongside his son, Joel, who is the leader of the United band and a pastor of the church's New York branch.[12][13][15]

"O Praise the Name (Anástasis)" was initially released in March 2015 as a free download on Hillsong's website, and served as a single for Easter.[2] David Ware served as vocalist for "O Praise the Name (Anástasis)", while prominent worship leader Marty Sampson co-wrote the song.[16] Sampson played the song for Langton, who was "overwhelmed" by the song, saying, "The lyrics… they captivated me. The thoughts in the song opened my eyes again to the Gospel story, and I felt the emotions of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ all over again — I could hardly wait to hear our church worship to this song."[17][18] A live version of the song was included in the track listing, with Sampson as the featured singer.[9][10] "Anástasis" is Greek for "resurrection" or a "rising of the dead", which reflects the verses that narrate the crucifixion, burial, resurrection and second coming of Jesus Christ.[8] Sampson, alongside co-writers Benjamin Hastings and Dean Ussher, wanted to arrange the song to pay tribute to the "timelessness" of hymns and to narrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, but later abandoned the song due to slow progress. When Langton approached him for a potential song for Easter, Sampson thought of revisiting the song, which led to him, Hastings and Ussher completing the song after developing the chorus, which Sampson felt should be a praise response to the events described in the verses, and concluding that the song should personalize the story of Christ.[19][20] He performed the song for the first time during one of Hillsong's church services.[17]

"Love on the Line" It is sung by Aryel Murphy, a worship leader from the church's Los Angeles branch.[21]

Packaging

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Promotion

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On 18 September 2015, "One Thing" was released as the first single of the album, with an accompanying lyric video,[22] and a music video released a few days later.[23] A studio version of "One Thing" was sent to radio and digital retailers on 23 October 2015.[24][25] An acoustic performance of the song was uploaded to YouTube on October 2015.[26] The live album version of "O Praise the Name (Anastásis)" was released on 2 October 2015 via iTunes as a promotional single, with its lyric video released on the same day,[27] and a music video uploaded to Vevo six days later.[28] Following the release of the album, several lyric and live music videos were released online, including "Open Heaven (River Wild)" and "Transfiguration".[29][30][31]

Several Hillsong Worship vocalists made media appearances in promotion of the album. "O Praise the Name (Anastásis)" and "Open Heaven (River Wild)" were featured in videos from music website Worship Together. The videos featured the songwriters talking about the songs' development, before performing acoustic versions of the songs.[20][32] In October 2015, Hillsong Worship was featured in the podcast of Christian magazine Relevant, where acoustic versions of "One Thing" and "Cornerstone", from the group's previous album Cornerstone (2012), were performed; the performances were filmed and uploaded online as well.[33]

In September 2015, Hillsong Nights, a North American tour, was announced; the tour promoted both Open Heaven / River Wild and Live Love Lead, a book written by Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston.[1] The tour ran from 29 September to 31 October 2015;[1] "O Praise the Name (Anastásis)" and "Open Heaven (River Wild)" were some of the songs from the album that were added to the tour's set list.[34][35] In December 2015, Hillsong Worship and Houston were announced as part of the line-up for the 2016 Outcry Tour, which spans several North American dates and will take place in April 2016.[36] Hillsong also announced a European tour from January-February 2016, beginning in Gothenburg.[37]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Christian Beat(4.5/5)[38]
Christian Today(mixed)[39]
Hallels(positive)[40]
New Release Today     [41]
Worship Leader     [8]

Overall reception for Open Heaven / River Wild was generally positive. Madeleine Dittmer from music website The Christian Beat called the album "a lyrical masterpiece...with incredibly moving vocal performances," and believed that the songs "draw listeners in to a sacred place of worship."[38] Timothy Tap of Hallels describes the record's experience as "an excursion into the heavenlies," and believed that Hillsong capitalized on the success of Hillsong United's "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)", one of the band's most successful singles, as a basis for the abundance of ballads in the album.[40] Yap also praised the songwriting contributions of Brooke Fraser as "[upping] the ante as far as song writing goes," and highlighted the vocals of Marty Sampson and Joel Houston.[40] Awarding the album a perfect five stars, Barry Westman of Christian magazine Worship Leader believed that "this collection of songs will provide the church with a fresh batch of songs for corporate worship with a heartfelt and intimate feel," which would compensate for a lack of upbeat songs.[8] Writing for New Release Today, Kevin Davis states that the tracks "are very passionate worship songs sung with vocal sincerity and reverence with biblically based lyrics," and noted that the songs had "great rock beats, catchy melodies and solid lyrics reflecting unashamed faith in Jesus."[41]

However, various reviews noted the album's adherence to the musical formula used in previous Hillsong worship albums. In a mixed review, Andy Walton of Christian Today identified Hillsong using its trademark sound in the album is both a strength and a weakness, saying, "If you've got previous Hillsong albums, then you already know the deal - well produced, a big sound, the repeated choruses rising to the big finish."[39] Although he noted that it may be resulting from the constraints of a live worship album, Walton wished that the group would take risks with their sound, including the usage of hymns, and concluded that Open Heaven / River Wild was a "good, but not great album."[39] Yap commented that "In God We Trust" had a "familiar old school pop singalong structure we have come to love of Hillsong Worship."[40] Westman wrote that the album "continues the familiar Hillsong congregational worship sound that has become so loved."[8]

Several reviewers complimented "O Praise the Name (Anástasis)" as a standout of the album. Westman labelled the song as having "the whole package," and called it a "masterfully crafted song tells the whole story of Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and second coming in the theologically rich verses."[8] He predicted that the song would "probably be the one that churches everywhere will be singing, especially this Easter."[8] Dittmer highlighted the song's buildup and structure, including the latter part of the song, where the audience sings the chorus before the band rejoins them.[38] Davis called "O Praise the Name (Anástasis)" one of his top worship songs of 2015.[41]

Track listing

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Standard edition[42]
No.TitleWriter(s)Worship leader[10][43]Length
1."O Praise the Name (Anástasis)"Benjamin Hastings, Marty Sampson, Dean UssherMarty Sampson5:29
2."Love on the Line"Brooke Ligertwood, Scott Ligertwood, Aryel MurphyAryel Murphy4:56
3."One Thing"Joel Houston, Aodhan King, Dylan ThomasAodhan King6:13
4."Open Heaven (River Wild)"Matt Crocker, SampsonMatt Crocker, Hannah Hobbs7:29
5."Transfiguration"King, B. Ligertwood, S. Ligertwood, Taya SmithTaya Smith5:36
6."What a Saviour"Chris Davenport, HoustonJoel Houston6:57
7."Heart Like Heaven"Crocker, HoustonJad Gillies7:28
8."Jesus I Need You"B. Ligertwood, S. Ligertwood, Reuben Morgan, Jarred RogersDavid Ware, Reuben Morgan4:59
9."Here with You"Joshua Grimmett, Johannes Shore, Jamie SnellTarryn Stokes4:20
10."In God We Trust"Ben Fielding, Eric Liljero, MorganBen Fielding, Annie Garratt4:01
11."Faithfulness"DavenportChris Davenport5:38
12."Never Forsaken"Hastings, Hannah HobbsLaura Toggs4:36
Total length:67:42
Digital deluxe edition[44]
No.TitleWriter(s)Worship leader[11]Length
13."Here Now (Madness)" (featuring Hillsong United)Michael Guy Chislett, HoustonJoel Houston, Jad Gillies, Taya Smith6:55
14."Rule" (featuring Hillsong United)Crocker, Houston, Benjamin TennikoffJonathon Douglass4:13
15."This is Living" (featuring Hillsong Young & Free)Joel Davies, KingAodhan King3:34
16."Pursue / All I Need is You" (Medley; featuring Hillsong Young & Free)Hobbs, King / SampsonAodhan King, Tracy Pratt7:43
Total length:90:07
DVD[3]
No.TitleLength
1."O Praise the Name (Anástasis)"5:24
2."Love on the Line"4:54
3."One Thing"6:14
4."Open Heaven (River Wild)"7:28
5."Transfiguration"5:35
6."What a Saviour"6:48
7."Heart Like Heaven"7:27
8."Jesus I Need You"5:11
9."Here with You"4:29
10."In God We Trust"3:59
11."Faithfulness"5:35
12."Never Forsaken"4:10
13."Here Now (Madness)"7:04
14."Rule"4:12
15."This Is Living"3:57
16."Pursue / All I Need Is You" (Medley)7:42
Total length:90:09

Personnel

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Source: Allmusic[13][45] and Open Heaven / River Wild liner notes.

Charts

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Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[47] 137
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[48] 37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[49] 19
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[50] 4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[51] 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[52] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[53] 39
US Billboard 200[54] 25
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[55] 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Sarachik, Justin (29 September 2015). "Hillsong Worship's 'Open Heaven/River Wild' Album will be First Live Project Recorded at Annual Conference". BreatheCast. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Yap, Timothy (12 July 2015). "Why Haven't Hillsong Worship Released a New Album This Year at the Hillsong Conference?". Hallels. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b Monger, Timothy. "Open Heaven / River Wild (DVD)". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Want to Sing on a Hillsong Worship Album? - Collected". hillsong.com. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  5. ^ Luschwitz, David (29 June 2015). "Hillsong Church is Listening on The Eve of Hillsong Conference 2015". Christian Today. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b Nsenduluka, Benge (30 September 2015). "Hillsong Releases Trailer for New Worship Album 'Open Heaven/River Wild' Ahead of NYC Conference (Video)". The Christian Post. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  7. ^ Longs, Herb (18 August 2015). "Hillsong Worship's New Album "Open Heaven/River Wild" October 16 Release". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Westman, Barry (27 October 2015). "Hillsong Worship: Open Heaven / River Wild". Worship Leader. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  9. ^ a b Yap, Timothy (5 September 2015). "Tracklisting of Hillsong's "Open Heaven/River Wild" Revealed". Hallels. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  10. ^ a b c Longs, Herb (31 August 2015). "Hillsong Worship "Open Heaven/River Wild" Album Tracklisting". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  11. ^ a b Yap, Timothy (23 September 2015). "Everything We Know About Hillsong Worship's 'OPEN HEAVEN / River Wild'". Hallels. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Meet the Band - Hillsong Movie". Hillsong: Let Hope Rise Official Website. Where Feet May Fail, LLC. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  13. ^ a b c "Open Heaven / River Wild - Credits". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Michael Guy Chislett". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  15. ^ Mackinley, Paige (6 July 2015). "Justin Bieber Finds Himself in Christian Faith with Hillsong Church, 'There are Some Things You Can Only Learn in the Valley'". The Inquisitr. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  16. ^ Ong, Czarina (27 March 2015). "Hillsong singer David Ware says their song 'O Praise The Name' brought a new revelation of Easter". Christian Post. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  17. ^ a b Langton, Cass (26 March 2015). "I Can't Wait To Sing This Song at Easter". Hillsong.com. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  18. ^ Ong, Czarina (30 March 2015). "Hillsong's Cass Langton cannot wait to sing 'O Praise The Name' on Easter". Christian Post. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  19. ^ Sampson, Marty (6 October 2015). "Song Story: O Praise The Name (Anástasis)". Hillsong.com. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  20. ^ a b "O Praise the Name (Anastásis)". Worship Together. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016. Marty Sampson: It was just trying to personalize everything that was happening through the story of Christ...It was just trying to dig in to the detail of the story of His crucifixion and the resurrection. If anything, it's just trying to highlight things that maybe we, in the bigness of the story, the little details that sometimes get glossed over. And then towards the end, the last verse, just personalizing as we arise with Christ, as we rise to meet Christ...It's a personal song, but it's also congregational.
  21. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Open Heaven / River Wild". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  22. ^ Longs, Herb (18 September 2015). "Listen To Hillsong Worship's New Single: "One Thing"". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Hillsong Worship - One Thing". Crosswalk.com. Salem Web Network. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  24. ^ Longs, Herb (26 October 2015). "Hillsong Worship "One Thing" Radio Version". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  25. ^ "One Thing (Radio Version) - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  26. ^ "Hillsong Worship: 'One Thing' Acoustic Video". CCM Magazine. Salem Web Network. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  27. ^ Longs, Herb (2 October 2015). "Hillsong Worship "O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" Lyric Video". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  28. ^ Longs, Herb (8 October 2015). "Hillsong Worship "O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" Live Performance Video". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  29. ^ Longs, Herb (16 October 2015). "Hillsong Worship "Open Heaven (River Wild)" Lyric Video". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  30. ^ "Hillsong Worship - Open Heaven (River Wild)". Crosswalk.com. Salem Web Network. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  31. ^ Longs, Herb (7 November 2015). "Hillsong Worship "Transfiguration" Live Performance". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  32. ^ "Open Heaven (River Wild)". Worship Together. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  33. ^ "Hillsong Worship Perfoms". Relevant (Podcast). 23 October 2015. Event occurs at 63:12. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  34. ^ Longs, Herb (29 September 2015). "Hillsong Worship "O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" Live At Hillsong Nights Canton, OH". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  35. ^ Longs, Herb (27 September 2015). "Hillsong Worship "Open Heaven / River Wild" Live Performance". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  36. ^ "Outcry Tour Announces Dates and Line-Up for 2016". Jesus Freak Hideout. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  37. ^ "Hillsong Worship - Scandinavian Tour". Goteborg.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  38. ^ a b c Dittmer, Madeleine (15 October 2015). "Hillsong Worship's "Open Heaven/River Wild" Is A Powerful Worship Experience". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  39. ^ a b c Walton, Andy (12 November 2015). "Hillsong album review: Open Heaven / River Wild". Christian Today. Christian Media Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  40. ^ a b c d Yap, Timothy (9 October 2015). "Hillsong Worship "OPEN HEAVEN/River Wild" Album Review". Hallels. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  41. ^ a b c Davis, Kevin (14 October 2015). "Casting Minds to Calvary". New Release Today. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  42. ^ "Open Heaven / River Wild (Live)". iTunes. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  43. ^ Open Heaven / River Wild (CD insert). Hillsong Worship. Hillsong Music, Sparrow Records, Capital Christian Group. 2015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  44. ^ "Open Heaven / River Wild (Deluxe/Live)". iTunes. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  45. ^ "Open Heaven / River Wild (DVD) - Credits". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  46. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Hillsong – Open Heaven / River Wild". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  47. ^ "Ultratop.be – Hillsong – Open Heaven / River Wild" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  48. ^ "Hillsong Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  49. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Hillsong – Open Heaven / River Wild" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  50. ^ "Charts.nz – Hillsong – Open Heaven / River Wild". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  51. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Hillsong – Open Heaven / River Wild". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  52. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Hillsong – Open Heaven / River Wild". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  53. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  54. ^ "Hillsong Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  55. ^ "Hillsong Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
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