Matthew West Releases New Album Featuring "Never Ever Give Up"

I have been waiting for this since I heard the song during the KLOVE Fan Awards movie event. He wrote "Never Ever Give Up" for a little girl named Brooke who was battling cancer. I loved it the first time I heard it and was checking YouTube every couple months to see if he'd released an audio for it yet. I wanted to listen! He finally released it on his newest album, "All In".  

This post has been a long time coming, but album reviews take time to put together, and each time I'd come to post, I wouldn't have time. Better late than never! I'm going to review my favorite songs from the album (which may end up being the majority, we'll see :)

ALL IN
We'll start with the title track. What I like about this song is how it truly is about every single person. West sings, "we're all dying to live, but we're all scared to death". Doesn't that just about sum up everyone? This song, with its message and beat, is a great foot forward for the album.

BROKEN THINGS
You've heard this one on the radio long before the album came out. How does he do it? This song, like Mended, speaks to us when we feel useless to God. "The pages of history, they tell me it's true/ that it's never the perfect, it's always the ones with the scars that you use". The end of the chorus ties this song with the "all in" theme of the album as it says, "then here I am, Lord, I'm all yours". Wonderful, incredible song. 

THE SOUND OF A LIFE CHANGING
This is like a biography of West's life in a song! I love it. He starts off as a broke college student, attending a SCC concert (yes! :) and he hears God say, "that's gonna be you someday". How cool is that? Then it switches to him singing and "you're in the crowd, looking at me/ singing Child of the One True King" and he's thinking that any one person in that crowd could be experiencing what he did years ago. 

I love the way West is so humble about being used by God: "I'm no Billy Graham, but I come as I am, and you know that you can too". Any one moment can be the moment our life changes. 

Oooh! Here's the story of the song!

1 SONG
West has great lyrics, but he also has great music. This beat gets stuck in my head a lot. "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah" :) In '1 Song' the idea is that if he could only sing one song, it would be for God, but I also think it is a good reminder that we never know when our last is, so it should all be for God. 

And the finale.... NEVER, EVER GIVE UP
As I said at the beginning of this post, this song was written for Brooke, but I think it's going to encourage a lot of people who are going through incredibly challenging seasons. My favorite aspect is the upbeat music :) I can't help but smile and want to dance a bit when I hear this song. Added to it are the lyrics which are just so encouraging. Here's the song and then the video of Matthew and Elizabeth Hasslebeck surprising Brooke with the song. It's super sweet.

I don't know that I could pick a song off this album to be my favorite. I listen to all of these almost equally. Depends on what's in my head at the time. Usually I'm singing one of them and then I want to listen to the real thing. Hope you enjoyed this!

Nichole Nordeman's newest album

There are so many good songs on Nichole's new album "Every Mile Mattered" that I'm going to do one post with all the songs. Happy Listening!

"Every Mile Mattered" is the title track of the album. It takes the analogy of life as a trip and a map and says that there are stories in our past and that everything that happened matters in our life; it shapes who we are. 

Favorite lyrics: 

And every road and every bend
Every bruise and bitter end
All you squandered, all you spent
It mattered, it mattered
Mercy always finds a way
To wrap your blisters up in grace
And every highway you'd erase
It mattered, it mattered

 "You're Here" shares the truth that God is everywhere and always with us. Simple as that.

Favorite lyrics:

 Anywhere You are is sanctuary
Everywhere You are is where I'm free

You will always be my home
I don't have to be alone
Don't have to be alone
You will always be my home

"Dear Me" was the first song I heard off this album, thanks to Spotify's Release Radar or Discover Weekly playlist (I can't remember). I listen to it at least once a week right now and it is so powerful! It's a letter to Nordeman's younger self and - ostensibly - to all of our younger selves about what really is important, though we make other things important.

Favorite lyrics:

And you cannot imagine all the places you'll see Jesus
But you'll find Him everywhere you thought He wasn't supposed to go
So, go!.. Go!..

And hold all the mothers, whose babies bleed from bullet holes
And feel all the hunger, the bellies and the bones
Shout for the prisoner, cry for justice, loud and long
And march with the victims, as Jesus marches on
And sit at all the tables, 'cause Jesus eats with everyone
And dance to the music, if you can't sing its native tongue
And cry for the wombs, the mothers and the empty arms
And hold high the warriors, fighting now for freedoms' song

And love, love, love, love
Like it's your own blood
And love, love, love, love
As you have been loved
Love, love, love, love
Like it's your own blood
Love, love, love, love
As you have been loved
Love, love, love, love, love
Like [you have been?]
Love, love, love, love, love
It's all about love!
Love, love, love, love, love
His name is love
Love, love, love, love, love

Okay, I know that's like half the song, but do you see how powerful this is?

If I had to pick a theme for the song "No Longer" it would be stepping out of the comfort zone. The song starts out listing a bunch of big miracles that God did with people He pulled from their comfort zones. It goes on to say how much Nordeman wants to live fully and "recklessly", if you will, for God.

Favorite lyrics:

This my red sea and my Jericho
This is my Philistine and my five stones
But talk is cheap, so is bargaining
So, here I go
I don't want to live, like I'm half alive
I don't want to walk, where the road is wide
All this fear that, I've been tryin' to hide
Is going to start to show

"Lean" is one of Nordeman's trademark ballads. It explores our tendency to feel like we need to perform for God; to wear the mask we put on for those around us with our Father. I also really like the harmony on the chorus. It is one of my favorite parts of the song. 

Favorite lyrics:

When will I let go
Be still and just know
When will I see, when will I just believe

I could stand, I could fall
You want all of me
I could run, I could crawl
You will always be
You're not impressed, with all of my best
Not disappointed, when I don't land on my feet
In everything, You are asking me
To lean 

"Listen To Your Life" only works for the Christian. If you're not a Christian, it's just another standard "listen to your heart" type message. But we can listen to our lives, to what's on the inside, because what's on the inside is the Holy Spirit and He can be trusted. 

Favorite lyrics:

Listen to your life-life-life-life
And what's on the inside-side-side-side
All the other sound, turn it down and
Listen to your life, life, life, life
Let the Spirit flow-ow-ow-ow
And let the Spirit show-ow-ow-ow you
All that He was meant to
Only when you learn to
Listen to your life-life-life-life

I can see "Sound of Surviving" becoming an anthem for the seasons when everything is going wrong. Or maybe when you get out of that season, this is your victory song. We all survive so much in our lives, and we do it with the power that comes from God.

Favorite lyrics:

These pieces
The ones that left me bleeding
Intended for my pain
Became the gift You gave me
I gathered those pieces into a mountain
My freedom is in view
I'm stronger than I knew 

 I know that was super long; I apologize. But I didn't want to do so many separate posts and there are so many good songs on this album. 

 

About A Mile's Sophomore Album

I can not get enough of AAM's sophomore album "Trust You All The Way". Every single song is wonderfully written and performed.   

"TAKING BACK" is all about how the Devil and sin have taken so much from us, but in Christ, we can take it all back. We can take back the truth about ourselves and our past when confronted with lies. We can take back relationships. We can take back what sin has messed up because Christ can redeem it.

Favorite lyrics: 

I'm taking back what the Enemy,

has torn from my life

You can knock me down, I'm gonna get back up,

every single time

I'm taking back 

"TRADED" is one of my favorites. It's all about redemption, what Jesus did for us on the cross. The emphasis focuses all on what He did and contrasts our junk with His grace. Such a great reminder.

Favorite lyrics:

I traded a life of sin, for a life with Him,

I came alive when we switched places,

I traded my brokenness, for holiness,

He took my cross and gave me grace when,

We traded 

 "CALLING YOUR NAME" deals with doubt. When it seems so hard to have faith, AAM wants to you to know that God is still right there. He is standing by your side calling your name.

Favorite lyrics:

Called you out of darkness

Called you into light

Called you by your name

'Cause you are mine

"TRUST YOU ALL THE WAY" is another one of my favorites, although this whole album is just so fantastic! I love the catchy music. The message is easy to say and to sing, but putting it into practice is a day-by-day (sometimes minute-by-minute) struggle.

Favorite lyrics: 

I know what to do

I know what to pray

But sometimes it takes

every ounce of my faith to say

I trust in you, trust in you

when it's hard to say

I trust in you, trust in you

Trust you all the way

I have seen the proof

you always come through

Your promises are true 

"REACH" is also a favorite :) The imagery they start with - sinking like Peter in a raging sea - is something I think a lot of people can get their minds around and even relate to.  It's the image of hitting rock bottom and having nowhere to go but up. And Who is up? Jesus. 

Favorite lyrics: 

I was sinking like Peter in a raging sea

Head under water in way too deep

That's when I heard a voice inside me say

"Look up, help is on the way"

"BORN TO LIVE" asks the question, "What is our purpose? What do our lives mean and why are we here?" My favorite lyrics do a pretty good job of explaining what AAM's answer is. I just finished reading Ecclesiastes and this song I feel like reflects the theme of that book well: live life in the moment because that's all the really has any meaning. It's not the secular YOLO, but the idea is that our achievements don't really mean anything. In the song, they say "make every moment a memory to last".  Enjoy your life. Don't be stupid, but live fully alive. It's hard to explain, but hopefully you understand.

Favorite lyrics:

I'm so sick of wasting time

Living life like I'm half alive

I'm done believing these evil lies

That tell me hopes and dreams have died

I can feel it in the air tonight

Way up above these city lights

 There's a higher calling on all our lives

Let's live to love and not just survive

 "OUTRUN" continues what seems to be a major theme on this album - God is always with us no matter what. That theme is explored in "Calling Your Name" & "Reach" and now again here in "Outrun". I love how intimate this song is. AAM wrote it like God is a friend writing you a note! God is saying, "Hey! We used to be close and I miss you!" I can relate to that feeling. 

Favorite lyrics:

I remember better days

You could hear me saying "I love you"

Before the world got in the way

and stopped my voice from cutting through

 Let's hang out tonight

You're so busy

We can go outside

Stars spinning

I am by your side

"HALLELUJAH" has more themes of redemption. I think we can say that the two major themes are redemption and God's presence always being with us. Anyway, this song is a bit slower and more contemplative than "Traded" but it explores a similar thought - that we were once trapped in our sins, but we have now been redeemed. Hallelujah!

Favorite lyrics:

And I fall down on my knees

and I lift my hands up to ya'

Your grace washes over me

I know I have been made new

And I fall down on my knees

and I lift my hands up to ya'

Every fiber of my being

Singin' hallelujah

"UNDENIABLE" is one of the more rock songs on the album. Another favorite :) In Romans it says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that man is without excuse." (Romans 1:20) I'm not sure if this song is based off that verse, but it could be!

*The chameleon analogy is songwriting genius! Love it!*

Favorite lyrics: 

No one can tell me it's not real

'Cause I have the proof a heart can heal

I've been changed from the inside out

and nothing in the world's gonna stop me now

The truth has been revealed

Love unchangable

Not some kind of chameleon

I won't blend with my surroundings

Won't hide this hope that found me

Undeniable

"ALL I NEED" talks about searching. A nice ballad to end the album, this song discuss the fact many of us have known - nothing satisfies the emptiness except God.

Favorite lyrics:

I searched the world to see if I

could find some kind of cure for

The loneliness that lived inside

This heart of mine

But everything seemed to leave me

more empty than before

Now I know the reason why

Thanks for sticking it out! I know this was a long post, but I love this album and wanted to share with you what the songs mean to me. I hope the songs touch you as they have me and draw you closer to God. Happy Listening!