The Worship Project
{{good article}}
{{Infobox album
| name = The Worship Project
| type = Studio
| artist = MercyMe
| cover = Mercyme_theworshipproject.jpg
| alt =
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Alternative rock, pop, rock, worship
| length =
| producer = MercyMe
| prev_title = The Need
| prev_year = 1999
| next_title = Look
| next_year = 2000
}}
The Worship Project is the fifth self-released album by American Christian rock band MercyMe. Produced by the band and recorded by Jim Bryson (the band's keyboardist), the album was released on October 14, 1999. In contrast to the band's previous efforts, which were influenced by grunge music, The Worship Project is a worship album. MercyMe wrote songs for the album using a basic verse–chorus style so as to be easy to learn and sing along to and to easily fit on a PowerPoint screen. The album incorporates alternative, rock, and pop musical styles, as well as "rootsy" elements like organs and violins.
Like most independent albums, The Worship Project did not appear on any record charts after its release and received little attention from music critics, with the exception of a review in the UK Christian music magazine Cross Rhythms. However, the album was much more successful than the band's previous efforts, selling over 60,000 copies within a year. The band would release one more album before signing with INO Records and releasing their first major studio album, Almost There (2001). Several songs from The Worship Project were included on the album, including "I Can Only Imagine", which became the band's breakthrough single on Christian and mainstream radio and the best-selling Christian single of all time as of March 2018.
Background and composition
{{listen|title="It's My Joy"|filename=MercyMe It's My Joy.ogg|description="It's My Joy" has been described as having a "bluesy" sound.}}
{{listen|title="I Can Only Imagine"|filename=I Can Only Imagine.ogg|description="I Can Only Imagine" was the last song to be written for the album.}}
MercyMe was formed in 1994 by vocalist Bart Millard, guitarist Mike Scheuchzer, and keyboardist Jim Bryson.{{cite AV media|people=Narrator|date=November 22, 2008|title=Faith & Fame: MercyMe|medium=Television production|publisher=Gospel Music Channel|time=7:35|quote=By 1994, friends Bart Millard and Mike Scheuchzer made up their minds to pursue music wholeheartedly, and with the help of Jim Bryson, they packed their bags and moved to Oklahoma to form MercyMe.}} The band later brought on drummer Robby Shaffer and bassist Nathan Cochran in 1997.{{cite web |last1=Elwood |first1=Lacy |title=Have Mercy: Christian band talks about contracts, touring |url=https://www.baylor.edu/lariatarchives/news.php?action=story&story=16759 |website=The Baylor Lariat |access-date=June 7, 2019 |date=March 23, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210225503/http://www.baylor.edu/lariatarchives/news.php?action=story&story=16759 |archive-date=December 10, 2015 |url-status=live }} Prior to the release of The Worship Project, MercyMe had released four Christian alternative rock albums, drawing influence from the grunge style popular at the time.{{cite AV media|people=Narrator|date=November 22, 2008|title=Faith & Fame: MercyMe|medium=Television production|publisher=Gospel Music Channel|time=10:27|quote=The band was also able to record several independent albums during those years, which reflected their taste for the grunge music so popular in the mid–90s. But it was their skill in leading worship that kept them working, not their original offerings of alternative Christian rock.}} While playing live, however, the band realized that their original songs from these albums failed to connect with their audiences. In contrast, their covers of popular worship songs were received positively, leading the band to decide to write and produce a whole album of original worship songs.{{cite AV media|people=Millard (interviewee)|date=November 22, 2008|title=Faith & Fame: MercyMe|medium=Television production|publisher=Gospel Music Channel|time=11:01|quote=We'd play our own songs we wrote that never got any kind of pulse, then we'd lead worship and it was great. And it was so funny because you lose track of what you're called to do, and it was right there to realize that when we lead worship, something happens... we started thinking, well, OK, maybe we should try writing worship songs. One verse, one chorus, it'll fit on PowerPoint screen, it'll be fine, real simple to learn.}}
The Worship Project was MercyMe's first attempt at producing their own corporate worship songs; the band blended this style with their style as a rock band.{{cite web|last1=Hambrick|first1=Melissa|title=Song Story: "Word of God Speak" by Mercy Me|url=http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/song-story-word-of-god-speak-by-mercy-me-1270043.html|publisher=Crosswalk.com|access-date=March 29, 2016|date=June 23, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407171019/http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/song-story-word-of-god-speak-by-mercy-me-1270043.html|archive-date=April 7, 2016|url-status=live}} According to Millard, the album was written over three days; the band "decided to lock [themselves] in an old Sunday school room" to write the songs for the album. With the exception of "Beautiful", which was written and composed by Cochran, the lyrics on the album were written by Millard, while the music was composed by the entire band. The band utilized a simple verse–chorus format when writing songs the album, with the songs being designed to easily fit on a PowerPoint screen.{{cite web|url=http://christianmusic.about.com/od/mercyme/a/mercyme10yrs.htm|title=MercyMe – Celebrating 10 Years Since "I Can Only Imagine"|last=Jones|first=Kim|date=February 26, 2009|publisher=About.com|access-date=November 13, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401025539/http://christianmusic.about.com/od/mercyme/a/mercyme10yrs.htm|archive-date=April 1, 2012}} The only song on the album not to utilize this format, "I Can Only Imagine", was included at the last minute, and only because it was important to Millard, who wrote the song reminiscing about his father's death. The album was recorded at The Pig Sty in Fort Worth, Texas. It was produced by the band, engineered and mixed by Bryson, and mastered by Eric Wolf at Wolf Mastering in Nashville.
The Worship Project has been described as being a worship album, drawing influences from rock, pop, and alternative music. Mike Rimmer of Cross Rhythms noted the album occasionally features "rootsy" elements as well as "Hammond–style organs" and "faint violins". The album's opening song, "Here With Us", had been described as a rock song. In the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, Mark Allan Powell described "Happy Little Love Song" as being a "Pearl Jam–type anthem fit for arenas".{{cite book|last1=Powell|first1=Mark Allan|authorlink1=Mark Allan Powell|title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music|date=June 1, 2002|publisher=Hendrickson Publisher|isbn=1565636791|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/587 587]|edition=1st|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/587}} Powell also described "Hearts Sing Louder" as being influenced by Smash Mouth, and felt "It's My Joy" had a "bluesy rhythm" with "70s organs"; the song also samples "Joyful, Joyful We Adore You".
Release, reception, and impact
The Worship Project was released on October 14, 1999. The band also issued The Worship Project Kit, which included the album as well a devotional and the words and chords to the songs.{{cite web|url=http://www.mercyme.org/disclist.htm|title=MercyMe Discography|date=November 27, 1999|publisher=MercyMe|access-date=March 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991127180522/http://www.mercyme.org/disclist.htm|archive-date=November 27, 1999|url-status=dead}} The album was sold through the Internet as well as bookstore signings.{{cite web|title=MercyMe finally getting their big–time due|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1518409.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505054204/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1518409.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 5, 2016|last=Di Nunzio|first=Miriam|work=Chicago Sun–Times |via=HighBeam Research|access-date=March 18, 2016|date=February 20, 2004}} Copies of the album were produced by the band in their garage.{{cite AV media|people=Bart Millard|date=August 29, 2006|title=Almost There (Platinum Edition)|chapter=Interview with Bart, Pt. 3|medium=CD|format=|time=|publisher=INO Records|quote=}} Like most independent albums, The Worship Project did not appear on any record charts and met with limited fanfare. In the October 1, 2000 edition of Cross Rhythms, Mike Rimmer gave the album seven out of ten stars. Rimmer praised the album as being "miles better" than most major–label worship albums, but felt that "there’s still something missing in the overall approach". Rimmer said the album was a "good effort" but "falls short of being amazing".{{cite web|url=http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/MercyMe/The_Worship_Project/2351/|title=MercyMe – The Worship Project|last=Rimmer|first=Mike|publisher=Cross Rhythms|date=October 1, 2000|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618114936/http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/MercyMe/The_Worship_Project/2351/|archive-date=June 18, 2013|url-status=live}} Sales for The Worship Project far exceeded sales of the band's previous records – according to Millard, whereas their previous albums would be lucky to sell 1,000 copies in a year, The Worship Project sold over 60,000 copies within a year. Millard estimated the album's overall sales at 100,000 – other sources peg the album's sales as of 2006 at 60,000{{cite news|last1=Jenison|first1=David|title=A Severe Mercy|url=http://ht.salemweb.net/ccm/ccmmagazine/pdf/200405.pdf|access-date=March 26, 2016|work=CCM Magazine|publisher=Salem Publishing|volume=26|issue=11|date=May 4, 2004|page=34|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510052731/http://ht.salemweb.net/ccm/ccmmagazine/pdf/200405.pdf|archive-date=May 10, 2012|url-status=dead}} or 65,000 copies.
The difficulty of selling the album directly, in addition to having to book and manage for themselves, led the band to pursue a contract with a record label. The band would release one more album, 2000's Look, before signing with INO Records and releasing their 2001 album Almost There.{{cite web|title=Meet MercyMe|url=http://www.christianbook.com/html/authors/4481.html|publisher=ChristianBook.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409080151/http://www.christianbook.com/html/authors/4481.html|archive-date=April 9, 2016|access-date=March 26, 2016|url-status=dead}} Two songs from The Worship Project were re–recorded and included on Almost There – "I Can Only Imagine" and "Cannot Say Enough".{{cite AV media|people=Bart Millard|date=August 29, 2006|title=Almost There|chapter=Song By Song|medium=CD|format=|time=5:41|publisher=INO Records|quote=This is 'Cannot Say Enough', which is another song off of one of our previous records. I believe this one is on The Worship Project, which 'I Can Only Imagine' was also on.}} "I Can Only Imagine" was released as the album's second single and became the band's breakthrough hit, topping the US Christian radio charts and receiving a GMA Dove Award for "Song of the Year" before becoming a hit on US mainstream radio in 2003. It became the first single by any artist in the Christian music genre to be certified platinum{{cite web|url=http://www.christiantoday.com/article/mercyme.makes.history.as.i.can.only.imagine.surpasses.1.million.downloads/25752.htm |title=Mercyme makes history as "I Can Only Imagine" surpasses 1 million downloads |date=April 21, 2010|work=Christian Today |publisher=Andrew Clark |access-date=October 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403073915/http://www.christiantoday.com/article/mercyme.makes.history.as.i.can.only.imagine.surpasses.1.million.downloads/25752.htm |archive-date=April 3, 2012 |url-status=dead}} and was certified triple platinum in June 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?search=MercyMe|title=RIAA Gold and Platinum|publisher=RIAA|date=April 14, 2010|access-date=October 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154703/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?search=MercyMe|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} Note: Requires user to input artist, e.g. MercyMe. It has sold 2.5 million copies as of March 2018, making it the best-selling Christian single of all time.{{cite web|last1=Ryan|first1=Patrick|title=How did 'I Can Only Imagine' become the biggest Christian hit ever (and inspire a movie)?|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/03/13/how-did-can-only-imagine-become-best-selling-christian-song-all-time/418024002/|publisher=USA Today|access-date=March 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323041958/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/03/13/how-did-can-only-imagine-become-best-selling-christian-song-all-time/418024002/|archive-date=March 23, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} Another song from The Worship Project, "Hearts Sing Louder", was included on the band's 2011 Family Christian Stores–exclusive album The Worship Sessions.{{cite web|url=http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/MercyMe/The_Worship_Sessions/126667/|title=MercyMe – The Worship Sessions|last=McCollum|first=Alastair|publisher=Cross Rhythms|date=March 9, 2013|access-date=March 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324160935/http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/MercyMe/The_Worship_Sessions/126667/|archive-date=March 24, 2016|url-status=live}}
Personnel
(Credits from the album liner notes){{cite AV media notes|title=The Worship Project|others=MercyMe|year=1999|publisher=Independent}}
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
;MercyMe
- Bart Millard – lead vocals
- Mike Scheuchzer – guitar, background vocals
- Jim Bryson – keys
- Robby Shaffer – drums
- Nathan Cochran – bass guitar, background vocals
{{col-break}}
;Technical/Misc.
- Jim Bryson – engineering, mixing
- MercyMe – producer
- Eric Wolf – mastering
- Shatrine Weik – design
{{col-end}}
Track listing
Credits and track list from the album liner notes.
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| headline = Track list
| title1 = Here For You
| lyrics1 = Bart Millard
| music1 = MercyMe
| length1 = 3:54
| title2 = Happy Little Love Song
| lyrics2 = Millard
| music2 = MercyMe
| length2 = 4:41
| title3 = It's My Joy
| lyrics3 = Millard
| music3 = MercyMe
| length3 = 3:38
| title4 = Say Amen
| lyrics4 = Millard
| music4 = MercyMe
| length4 = 5:09
| title5 = I Can Only Imagine
| lyrics5 = Millard
| music5 = MercyMe
| length5 = 4:09
| title6 = Cannot Say Enough
| lyrics6 = Millard
| music6 = MercyMe
| length6 = 4:19
| title7 = Hearts Sing Louder
| lyrics7 = Millard
| music7 = MercyMe
| length7 = 5:00
| title8 = Psalm 104
| lyrics8 = Millard
| music8 = MercyMe
| length8 = 3:02
| title9 = Jesus Come Quickly
| lyrics9 = Millard
| music9 = MercyMe
| length9 = 4:07
| title10 = Beautiful
| lyrics10 = Nathan Cochran
| music10 = Cochran
| total_length =
| length10 = 10:19
}}
After the song "Beautiful" concludes, there is a hidden track: an acoustic version of "I Can Only Imagine"
References
{{Reflist}}
{{MercyMe}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Worship Project, The}}