Graves into Gardens

Graves into Gardens is the eighth live album (twelfth album overall) by American contemporary worship band Elevation Worship. It was released on May 1, 2020, via Elevation Worship Records alongside Provident Label Group. The album contains guest appearances by Brandon Lake of Bethel Music, Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe, Tauren Wells and Isaiah Templeton. Aaron Robertson and Chris Brown collaborated on the production of the album.

Graves into Gardens
Live album by
Elevation Worship
ReleasedMay 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
RecordedJanuary – March 2020
VenueElevation Ballantyne, Charlotte, North Carolina, US
Genre
Length64:50
Label
Producer
  • Chris Brown
  • Aaron Robertson
Elevation Worship live album chronology
Hallelujah Here Below
(2018)		 Graves into Gardens
(2020)
Elevation Worship chronology
At Midnight
(2019)		 Graves into Gardens
(2020)		 Tumbas a Jardines
(2020)
Singles from Graves into Gardens
  1. "The Blessing"
    Released: March 13, 2020 (2020-03-13)
  2. "Graves into Gardens"
    Released: August 7, 2020 (2020-08-07)

The album was supported by the release of "The Blessing" and "Graves into Gardens" as singles. "The Blessing" peaked at No. 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart,[1] and No. 2 on the Hot Christian Songs chart in the United States,[2] and has been certified gold by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[3] "Graves into Gardens" became Elevation Worship's highest charting single, registering their first No. 1 single on the Hot Christian Songs chart,[4][5] and peaking at No. 4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[6]

Graves into Gardens was released to critical acclaim, while achieving commercial success with debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums Chart in the United States,[7] and No. 2 on the OCC's Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart in the United Kingdom, concurrently attaining top 100 mainstream chart entries in the United States, Australia, Canada, Scotland and Switzerland. Elevation Worship had initially intended to further promote the album by embarking on the Elevation Nights 2020 tour with pastor Steven Furtick, but the tour was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

Elevation Worship's Chris Brown shared the meaning behind the album title and its theme,[8][9] saying:

Many of our songs come from sermons that Pastor Steven preaches. The title track, in particular, launched from a message of his called 'The Mystery of Potential.' He was in that 2 Kings passage which details that after the prophet Elisha died, his story didn't end there. Two Israelites were near his gravesite about to bury another man. When they saw a band of enemy raiders coming, they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. As soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet (2 Kings 13:20-21). Elisha still had a resurrection miracle left in his bones, and God is still in the business of bringing dead things back to life. If we'll trust God even with the seemingly dead areas of our lives, if we'll believe in the power of God, if we'll declare resurrection power over everything we sow, nothing will be wasted. Nothing is over. God can turn any situation around.

Recording and production
"We love getting in a room with our people and capturing the sound of our church. It’s our favorite way to record the songs God’s given us in that season. There has not been another live recording of ours that has compared to the energy and spirit that was in the room that night."

– Chris Brown, on the decision to release Graves into Gardens as a live album.[9]

The album's nine original tracks were recorded over a night on January 15, 2020, at Elevation Church's Ballantyne campus in Charlotte, North Carolina,[9] where previous Elevation Worship projects have been recorded. Elevation Worship's Chris Brown noted that while most of the songs were written in 2019, "Rattle" and "The Blessing" were written and recorded in early 2020.[10][8] The band collaborated with Bethel Music's Brandon Lake in writing a number of songs on the album and featured on the album's title track, other collaborators also included Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes on co-writing and leading "The Blessing" as well as Tauren Wells lending his vocals on "Never Lost".[8]

"The Blessing" was written by Jobe, Carnes, together with Steven Furtick and Brown in a writing session on Thursday, February 27, 2020, at Elevation prior to leading it at Elevation's Sunday service on March 1, 2020.[11][12] "Rattle" was written during quarantine with voice memos and over Zoom calls, and the track was recorded without a live audience, with the band practicing social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

Release and promotion

Singles

"The Blessing" was officially released as the lead single of the album on March 20, 2020.[11] The song debuted at No. 3 and No. 4 on the Hot Christian Songs and the Digital Song Sales charts dated April 24, 2020, respectively.[13] The song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot Christian Songs chart,[2] and No. 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[1]

"Graves into Gardens" was sent to Christian radio stations on August 21, 2020, as the second official single from the album.[14] The song went on to become Elevation Worship's first No. 1 single on the Hot Christian Songs and Christian Airplay charts.[4] The song also peaked at No. 4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[6]

Promotional singles

On March 14, 2020, the album was availed for pre-order, with "Graves into Gardens" released as the first promotional single from the album.[15][16] On April 3, 2020, "My Testimony" was released as the second promotional single from the album.[17] "Rattle!" was availed on April 24, 2020, as the album's third promotional single.[18]

On the day of its release, Elevation Worship announced that the project became the highest pre-added worship album to date on Apple Music.[19]

Touring

In October 2019, Premier Productions announced that Elevation Worship alongside Pastor Steven Furtick would be going on their first arena tour, dubbed Elevation Nights 2020.[20] The tour was slated to commence at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in Austin, Texas, on May 26, 2020, and set to conclude at Barclays Center in New York City.[21] The band revealed in March 2020 that the tour will be in support of the then upcoming album.[22]

In April 2020, Elevation Worship announced that the Elevation Nights 2020 tour was cancelled in response to combating the COVID-19 pandemic.[23]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
365 Days of Inspiring Media4.5/5[24]
CCM Magazine[25]
The Christian Beat5/5[26]
Hallels3/5[27]
Jesus Freak Hideout[28]

Graves into Gardens was met with generally positive reviews. Joshua Andre in his 365 Days of Inspiring Media review praised the album in his review, saying, "I reckon their latest offering is one of the most cohesive ever- yep even more so than Hallelujah Here Below."[24] At CCM Magazine, Dan McIntosh rated the album three-point-five stars out of five, he acknowledged that the collection has "some truly standout tracks," but bemoaned the overall length saying, "this album could have used a little editing."[25] Herb Longs of The Christian Beat gave the album five out of five stars and said that it "dynamically showcases the collective talents of the group while spotlighting a number of special guests".[26] Timothy Yap, in his review for Hallels, felt that the album was underwhelming as it did not match the poetic and artful depiction of the album artwork, saying "Though there are still moments of sublimity, they are all mixed together in what feels like an extremely long album, with one of the songs marathoning close to the 10-minute mark."[27] Michael Weaver of Jesus Freak Hideout complimented the range of the tracks, saying "Elevation manages to break things up just by changing vocalists, but also by completely changing styles. The album features rock, contemporary worship, pop, and gospel music. Not many of the major worship groups are swinging for the fences in this way."[28]

Commercial performance

In the United States, Graves into Gardens earned 16,000 equivalent album units in its first week of sales, and as a result debuted at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums Chart dated May 16, 2020, the band's fifth chart-topping release on the tally.[29] The album concurrently registered on the mainstream Billboard 200 chart at No. 34.[30] Graves into Gardens debuted on the OCC's Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart at No. 2.[31]

Graves into Gardens also appeared at No. 38 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart,[32] No 66 on the Canadian Albums Chart,[33] No. 39 on Scottish Albums,[34] and No 47 on the Swiss Hitparade.[35]

Track listing
Graves into Gardens — Standard edition[36]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Testimony"
4:51
2."Graves into Gardens" (featuring Brandon Lake)
  • Brown
  • Furtick
  • Lake
  • Hammer
7:32
3."The Blessing" (with Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes)
8:27
4."Available"
9:41
5."Authority"
5:39
6."Never Lost" (featuring Tauren Wells)
  • Brown
  • Furtick
  • Hammer
6:50
7."No One Beside"
  • Brown
  • Furtick
  • Hammer
5:56
8."Have My Heart (Vamp)"
  • Furtick
  • Lake
  • Hammer
4:04
9."There Is a King"
  • Furtick
  • Lake
  • Hammer
5:00
10."What Would You Do" (featuring Isaiah Templeton)
  • Furtick
  • Isaiah Templeton
6:50
Total length:64:50
Graves into Gardens — Apple Music standard edition bonus content[37]
No.TitleLength
11."My Testimony" (Music Video)4:52
12."Graves into Gardens" (featuring Brandon Lake; Music Video)7:32
13."Available" (Music Video)9:40
14."Authority" (Music Video)5:39
15."Never Lost" (featuring Tauren Wells; Music Video)6:51
16."No One Beside" (Music Video)5:57
17."Have My Heart (Vamp)" (Music Video)4:05
18."There Is a King" (Music Video)5:01
19."What Would You Do" (featuring Isaiah Templeton; Music Video)6:46
Graves into Gardens — Deluxe[38][39]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rattle!"
  • Brown
  • Furtick
  • Lake
7:12
2."My Testimony" 4:51
3."Graves into Gardens" (featuring Brandon Lake) 7:32
4."The Blessing" (with Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes) 8:27
5."Available" 9:41
6."Authority" 5:39
7."Never Lost" (featuring Tauren Wells) 6:50
8."No One Beside" 5:56
9."Have My Heart (Vamp)" 4:04
10."There Is a King" 5:00
11."What Would You Do" (featuring Isaiah Templeton) 5:02
12."God Said Live"
  • Brown
  • Furtick
  • Lake
3:38
Total length:75:42
Graves into Gardens — Apple Music deluxe bonus content[40]
No.TitleLength
13."Rattle" (Music Video)10:29
14."My Testimony" (Music Video)4:52
15."Graves into Gardens" (featuring Brandon Lake; Music Video)7:33
16."Available" (Music Video)9:40
17."Authority" (Music Video)5:39
18."Never Lost" (featuring Tauren Wells; Music Video)6:51
19."No One Beside" (Music Video)5:57
20."Have My Heart (Vamp)" (Music Video)4:05
21."There Is a King" (Music Video)5:01
22."What Would You Do" (featuring Isaiah Templeton; Music Video)6:46

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.[41]

  • Jenna Barrientes – vocals
  • Jonsal Barrientes – vocals
  • Vincent Baynard – drums
  • Chris Brown – acoustic guitar, producer, vocal producer, vocals
  • Cody Carnes – featured artist
  • Steven Furtick – executive producer
  • Tiffany Hammer - vocals
  • Kari Jobe - featured artist
  • Brandon Lake -featured artist
  • Davide Mutendji – background vocals
  • Lanesha Owens – background vocals
  • Roseanna Parker – background vocals
  • Aaron Robertson – keyboards, producer, programming
  • Anna Sailors Pinkham – vocals
  • Isaiah Templeton - featured artist
  • Tauren Wells – featured artist

Charts

Release history
Region Date Version Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various May 1, 2020 Standard
Elevation Worship Records [36][37]
Deluxe [38][39][40]
June 12, 2020 CD Provident Label Group [47]

References
  1. "The Blessing: Live Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Bubbling Under Hot 100. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  2. "The Blessing: Live Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Hot Christian Songs. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  3. ""American single certifications – Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and Elevation Worship – The Blessing"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  4. Asker, Jim (February 4, 2021). "Elevation Worship Earns First No. 1 on Hot Christian Songs & Christian Airplay Charts | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  5. "Graves Into Gardens Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Hot Christian Songs. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  6. "Graves Into Gardens Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Bubbling Under Hot 100. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  7. Clarks, Jessie (May 12, 2020). "Elevation Worship's 'Graves Into Gardens' Debuts At #1 On Billboard's Top Christian Albums Chart". The Christian Beat. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  8. Longs, Herb (May 1, 2020). "Elevation Worship's Chris Brown & Jenna Barrientes Talk 'Graves Into Gardens'". The Christian Beat. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  9. Klett, Leah MarieAnne (May 1, 2020). "New Elevation Worship album declares 'worship over worry' amid COVId-19, says frontman Chris Brown - The Christian Post". The Christian Post. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  10. Asker, Jim (April 30, 2020). "Elevation Worship's Chris Brown Promises 'There's a Better Day Ahead' Amid Unsettling Times | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  11. Clarks, Jessie (March 8, 2020). "Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes & Elevation Worship Release "The Blessing (Live)"". The Christian Beat. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  12. "Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, Elevation's "The Blessing: Live" Hits the Christian Charts on Debut | Music Times". Music Times. April 2, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  13. Asker, Jim (April 1, 2020). "All-Star Collab 'The Blessing: Live' Debuts on Christian Charts: 'We Pray This Song Will Bring Peace' | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  14. ""Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation Worship - 55 Promotion". 55 Promotion. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
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  17. "Elevation Worship Drops their Third Single of 2020 "My Testimony" : News : Hallels". Hallels. October 19, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
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  23. Longs, Herb (May 1, 2020). "Elevation Nights 2020 Canceled". The Christian Beat. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  24. Andre, Joshua (May 3, 2020). "Elevation Worship – Graves Into Gardens | 365 Days of Inspiring Media". 365 Days of Inspiring Media. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  25. McIntosh, Dan (May 1, 2020). "Elevation Worship 'Graves into Gardens' – CCM Magazine". CCM Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  26. Longs, Herb (May 1, 2020). "Elevation Worship's 'Graves Into Gardens' Album Is Monumental & Impactful". The Christian Beat. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  27. Yap, Timothy (April 28, 2020). "Elevation Worship "Graves into Gardens (Live)" Album Review : Exclusives : Hallels". Hallels. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  28. Weaver, Michael (May 1, 2020). "Elevation Worship's 'Graves Into Gardens' Review". JesusFreakHideout. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  29. Asker, Jim (May 13, 2020). "Michael W. Smith Earns First No. 1 on Christian Airplay Chart With 'Waymaker' | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved May 18, 2020. Worship collective Elevation Worship banks its fifth No. 1 on Top Christian Albums, all of which have debuted at the apex, with Graves Into Gardens. In its first week, ending May 7, the set earned 16,000 equivalent album units, including 8,000 in album sales.
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