Change Your World

From the start, Michael W. Smith sought to bring his Christian message to a wider audience. Change Your World was a notable milestone toward achieving this goal, consolidating the crossover success of his ’91 pop hit “Place In This World.” Supple dance grooves and arena-rock guitar gestures dominate the sound, with high-profile assistance from the likes of Amy Grant and dcTalk. “Picture Perfect,” “Love One Another,” and “I Wanna Tell the World” match body-grabbing tracks with God-informed lyric content. As on earlier albums, Smitty returns to issues of faith in the real world, touching upon themes of personal identity (“Cross of Gold”), interracial brotherhood (“Color Blind”) and worldwide compassion (“Give It Away”) in nonsectarian terms. The inclusion of his elegiac signature ballad “Friends” in revamped form provides a link to Smith’s early work. Change Your World’s sparkling production and nuanced spiritual approach still have the power to uplift today.