MercyMe - MercyMe Live

Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

The first DVD contains over 80 minutes of concert footage from the American hitmakers, comprising a mixture of original and worship songs interspersed with testimonies and background clips. The heart of the band very quickly becomes apparent, that being a desire to lead others in worship and communicate the heart of Jesus. Quoting the singer, Bart, "God has called us to be worship leaders", and the concert has an air of group ministry rather than a performance. Highlights for me are "Homesick", a song from their new album about someone you love who is now in Heaven, and "I Can Only Imagine", the band's most famous song so far, about how we will react to being in Jesus' presence in Heaven. The musicianship is excellent and coupled with professional looking stage and visual production. The edit for the DVD has obviously been well thought out and there is a load of interesting extras on the second disc. These range from material shot on the road, through a history of the band members and time-lapse footage of a venue being rigged, to a section called "Worship Tools" which contains videos of five songs, both instrumental and with vocals, for use in a worship context. If you like guitar based pop/rock music and wish to be moved and uplifted in praise and worship, buy this DVD. This is the first time I have ever given 10 squares for anything - I feel I can do nothing but!