Yeah, so the new Chris Tomlin CD, See the Morning, came out last week. The entire disc has been crammed into my MP3 player and I'm having a hard time finding songs to rotate out to make more room. Not unlike a lot of Tomlin's earlier work, this one is pretty solid from start to finish. Tomlin doesn't change the formula that's made him a household name among the CCM set. That'll strike fans as a plus. Any doubt that he'd still have enough creative grounds to write new songs that continue to connect with audiences should be satisfied with what they hear.

Chris hits the stage at Houston's Cityfest on Sunday evening (sometime after 5:45 is about all I can gather from the website). If the weather cooperates, it should be a great venue to catch Tomlin live.

Track by track ...

1. How Can I Keep From Singing
The heavy instrumentals that lead into this song strike me as a touch out of place. But by the time the song gets going at full speed, it's one of those numbers that just begs to be sung along to. It practically insists it. All that said, I'd love to hear a more subtle, acoustic version of the song somewhere down the road.

2. Made to Worship
Great guitar riff to open this one up with. It just strikes me as a shame that it wasn't done more consistently as an electric song. Mild complaint, really. This is a(nother) great chorus by Tomlin that more than makes up for any complaints about the sparseness of instrumentation on his work.

3. Let God Arise
Tomlin & gang get rocking on this one. Not that it'll rouse any metalheads his way, but the song is a nice tempo-changer. I'm not a fan of the guitar tone used here, but that's all designed to be a background to Tomlin's vocals anyway (a point that takes some of us metalheads time to get used to). As a fan of heavier music, this one grows on me.

4. Everlasting God
Trademark Chris Tomlin song here ... an even-tempo of acoustic guitars, a repetitive melody, a sparse chorus. But at the same time memorable and evocative. I tend to classify a lot of this as "rainy day" music ... great stuff to spin when there's nothing to do but putter around the house that maintains a relatively even mood level throughout the song. But this one works just as well when the sun is out.

5. Glory In the Highest
Easily the most played song of mine from this release. I'm a big sucker for songs that build from a slow ballad to a rousing power chorus. This song does a spectacular job of that. At about 2:30 into the song, your either drawn in or dead to the world. It's easy to see this one being a hit on the concert trail, also. Instrumentally, it remains rather minimalist from start to finish.

6. Awesome Is the Lord Most High
My early choice for favorite tune to play over and over. The chorus is your standard Tomlin-degree of infectiousness, with a little added punch to it. A bit more guitar thrown into the production of this one, which is probably why I'm drawn to it so much.

7. Glorious
Plan on this one making the rounds at a few modern-worship churches. This one clocks in a notch above the "rainy day" tune mark. It's a slight bit faster than the others. The electric guitars are a bit more present throughout. But it's easy to see an adaptation of this for choir and church band.

8. Uncreated One
Tomlin & an acoustic guitar open this up. Not even a hint of drums. Later on, there's a few hints of electric guitar and (maybe) some mild percussion. Just another great "rainy day" type tune, really.

9. Rejoice
Another one that strikes me as practically ready-made for the church circuit. This version has a bit more guitar interludes built in, but they'll give ground by the time their reworked.

10. Let Your Mercy Rain
Another hypnotic rhythm, this time with a nice mix of electric & acoustic guitars as well as some keyboards here and there. For a song as 'electric' as this one, it's still your typical even-tempo Tomlin-style tune.

11. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
Some folks'll say not to mess with the classics. Tomlin adds a verse here and it fits beatifully. The song is essentially Tomlin singing over piano. The bluesy vibe of Tomlin's voice adds a great quality to this song that should make it a favorite among most.