Where I Find You, Kari Jobe – Album Review

Chris Olson and Julie Terwilliger had the opportunity to co-review Kari Jobe‘s new album, Where I Find You, releasing on Tuesday, January 24th. Here’s their conversational-style review…

Julie: Hey Chris! Once again we team up for a review of an epic album release! First things first, what was your first impression of this highly anticipated release?

Chris: After my first time giving it a full spin, I was immediately in love with the album. Admittedly there were a few songs that I wasn’t as bought into from the get go, but they came to grow on me upon future listens.

Julie: Same here, it grew on me & now I can’t stop listening to it!

Chris: I kinda expected this to sound like Kari’s last album, but it doesn’t. Hard to explain, but I believe this album more. Both albums have some nice layering and arrangements, and both have some good textures. But this one seems deeper, both sonically and lyrically.

Julie: I definitely noticed how polished it sounded at first. Although pretty much all of the songs are congregational friendly they are also masterfully produced for a radio hit. A few creative new sounds incorporated, but not to the point that the art is more noticeable than the heart of worship expressed.

Chris: The feeling I get listening to this album is far more tangible than I got with the last one. It’s still Kari’s soft, sweet voice, still a lot of “pretty” going on in the music. Directionally, the focus of this album is a little different. Kari herself says that this is about experiencing God’s presence, even in the midst of hardships. All of these songs definitely feed that theme, in the best way.

Julie: So what is your favorite song on this album? I would have to say mine is “Find You On My Knees” & “Stars In The Sky” – wonderful lyrics & lovely soaring vocals.

Chris: This isn’t a fair question! When I asked you the same thing in our last review together, you couldn’t pick just one, and I can’t either! My favorite songs on the album are “Stars in the Sky”, “Love Came Down”, and “Here”. “Stars in the Sky” just has an amazing groove with one of the best chorus melodies I have heard in a while. “Love Came Down” is by far the best rendition of this song I have heard, and the arrangement truly brings this song to life for me. “Here” is simply amazing. Listen to this song through some good headphones with your eyes closed. Do it.

Julie: Comments on the collaboration of some of the contributors to this recording? Did that question have a lot of C’s in it, or is that just me? : )

Chris: Ed Cash produced this album (Best. Name. EVER.) with Matt Bronleewe. Matt’s addition to this on the producing side (although he did also cowrite a few tunes on the album) likely is part of why this album has a different feel and vibe compared to the last album.

Julie: I concur we could converse about this album quite a bit longer, but will conclude with any of your closing comments & considerations of these carefully crafted choruses. (Did I just do that ‘C’ thing again…?)

Chris: Ten C’s in that one! Nicely done! This album is something special. Lyrically profound and sonically inspiring. I have listened to this album several times, quite often through headphones while working. I have genuinely been moved almost to the point of tears while listening to this album. Almost. I don’t have tears . . . I am a man . . . So, if you crave a creative choral consideration of God’s consistent covenantal commitment to His children, consider cranking this album in a cab or your casa, or anywhere else you care to. You will be blessed! (Julie . . . that’s 13. Check. Mate.)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

(review copy provided by EMI)

Kari Jobe: Steady My Heart Music Video, Acoustic Version

Here’s a new song by Kari Jobe from her new album releasing this month:

“This Is What We Believe” by Aaron Shust – CD Review

Dove award-winning artist Aaron Shust is back with his latest project, “This Is What We Believe”, a very powerful and personal record that possibly contains Shust’s best collection of songs to date.  There is an obvious depth to the lyrics and music in these songs. This project on the Centricity label, which was produced by the very prolific Ed Cash, was put together during a very tumultuous time in Aaron’s life.

If you follow Aaron on any of his social media sites, you may have seen Aaron sharing about a very painful ordeal with his then two-year old son, Nicky.  He and his family had just moved from Nashville back to Pennsylvania, where Aaron grew up.   Nicky was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, a rare and painful condition where his body was unable to take in any nutrition.  He was in the hospital for months, and after his body had rejected all other known food formulas, it finally accepted the last known treatment. 

Even then, he would have to be fed by a tube and on steroids for the rest of his life, since there is no known cure.  The amazing end to this part of the story is that not long after that, they received an unexpected call from his doctor, saying that his latest tests had come back normal; it was as if his body had never had the condition, and from that point on, he was completely healed! The doctors couldn’t explain it, but the Shust’s were confident they had just experienced God’s miraculous healing power.

It was during this very stressful time in his life that Aaron started working on the songs in This Is What We Believe.  Aaron says, “When your whole world is suddenly shaking, you need a firm place to stand. You see what it is in your life that’s stable and true and strong enough to hold you up, and you reach for that, you run to that. In a way, life becomes simpler because the distractions fall away and you find out what you really believe.”

The songs on this project are a bold declaration about who God is and who we are in Him because of His great love for us.  They still have the signature sound of Aaron Shust’s straightforward, singable style, but Cash seems to have stretched him in new ways, both musically and sonically.

The title track, “This Is What We Believe”, is a strong, driving confession of who we serve – the risen Christ, who takes away the sins of the world.  Almost creed-like, combining these words of truth with simple chord progressions, this song gives the church a fresh new way to declare what we believe.

The standout track to me is “My Hope Is In You”, a song not actually written by Shust himself, but one that he wanted to include because it expressed so perfectly what he was feeling during this time in his life.  Written by April Geesbreght, this song starts off with a piano intro that grabs you with its driving syncopated rhythms, then keeps you engaged all through the song with the strong declaration that our hope is in Him alone, even through drought and storm.  I love the rhythmic playfulness both in the melody and supporting band parts that make this song a joy to sing, and yet one that expresses just what we need to say when we’re going through struggles.

“Your Majesty”, a song that could easily be sung as a corporate worship anthem of praise, was written by Aaron over a period of several months, even though the lyrics came to him spontaneously the first time he strummed the chords. Aaron says that this song is “probably the only song I’ve ever written that just allows me to abandon myself in true worship of God every time I sing it.”  It’s another powerful song of worship!

There are several other great songs on this project, including “Risen Today”, a modern version of the classic hymn “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”. No matter where you stand on the current trend of updating classic hymns, it would be hard to argue that this song isn’t an instant Easter classic on its own, with the all the familiar phrases of the verses, and the soulful expression of praise in the new chorus.

It is definitely worth your time to give this record a listen! You will find several songs you can include in your services about who God is and how He is our Shelter, Peace and Rock in times of trouble.  If you’d like to hear more about this project from Aaron, and also hear him tell Nicky’s story, watch the video below.

-Review by Barry Westman

(review copy provided by Centricity Music)

EPK:

 

Kari Jobe Shows off Her All About Worship Trophy!

Recently we held our very first All About Worship Awards and sent off trophies to the winners. Kari Jobe, who was the winner of Interview of the Year (for this interview), was gracious enough to take a picture with her trophy so we can share with all of you!

Thanks so much, Kari!

All About Worship Award 2010 Winners Announced

Back in October we announced the first annual All About Worship Awards and asked you to vote. We announced the winners on Episode 58 of the All About Worship Awards. In case you missed it, here are the winners of All About Worship Awards 2010:

Artist of the Year: Vicky Beeching

Band of the Year: Hillsong United

Album of the Year: Eternity Invades by Vicky Beeching

Song of the Year: ”Our God” by Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin, Jesse Reeves

Twitterer of the Year: @vickybeeching

Interview of the Year: Kari Jobe (read the interview)

Embarrassing Moment of the Year: Carlos Whittaker (Episode 34)

From the All About Worship Team, HUGE congrats to all the winners! Big thanks to hundreds of you that participated and made this a very fun first year for the AAW Awards!

Gateway Worship’s God Be Praised – CD Review & Giveaway

Gateway Worship has finally released its third live worship album, and it was well worth the wait! With such great songs as “Revelation Song”, “The Lord Reigns”, “You Are Good”, “Save Me” and “You, You Are God”, and wonderful worship leaders such as Thomas Miller and best-selling Kari Jobe, coming from their previous worship albums, I was really looking forward to what this project had in store. This team of musicians is from Gateway Church near Dallas, Texas.

“God Be Praised” features 15 new high energy songs of praise and intimate moments of worship. The album opens with the energetic duo of “God is With Us Now” and “Praise Him”, followed by a song that really is at the heart of the theme of this album, called “Victory”. This song declares “Satan has no power/there’s freedom in the blood of Jesus/ there’s victory in the cross/I’m breaking free/all my chains are gone”. That’s really the overarching theme of this album, says Associate Pastor and Worship Leader Thomas Miller. “I am praying that the music from this album will be songs for people and churches everywhere to declare the absolute, complete, overwhelming victory that we all have in Jesus,” says Miller.

The album takes a more intimate turn with “Stay Amazed”, which is a powerful worship song, perfect for worship team, choir and soloist – “Oh holy God, I pour out my praise/on the One who never ceases to amaze.” A familiar hymn takes on a new chorus in “Oh For a Thousand (Hallelujah)”. Kari Jobe then makes her first solo appearance on this album with the powerful song “O the Blood”. This song is going to the top of my list for songs to do as we approach communion or a cross-focused service (“what a sacrifice, that saved my life/yes, the blood/ it is my victory”). “One Single Drop”, written by Walker Beach, starts with a nice acoustic guitar/vocal combo that almost has a very nice acoustic vibe to it, which then develops into a beautiful duet with a full string section. You can hear Walker tell the story behind this song here.

Another highlight was Kari Jobe’s “You Are For Me”. Kari made this song popular on her solo debut album, but I was so glad to see that this great song was included on this project. In this context of a live worship album with the theme of victory in Christ, this song gives worshippers a chance to sing with full assurance that “I know that You are for me!” The closing song, and title song, “God Be Praised” is a great way to end the album! This is a song that starts quietly, but builds into a driving, strong statement of praise that lifts your voice and heart to heaven.

Overall, I would say this album has a lot of very usable songs for congregations of any size. Even though on the recording you hear a choir of hundreds and a full team of musicians, these songs are rich in lyrics, and accessible enough that a team of any size can use them to lead their congregation to the throne. I’d highly recommend it! You can watch some of the songwriters and worship leaders give you their thoughts by watching this video below. You can also listen to/download the album on iTunes (releases November 9th).

===

(Review by Barry Westman)

Leave a comment (of at least 2 sentences) on this review by Monday, November 15th @ 6pm CST, for your chance to win this CD. We’ll pick two random winners! Be sure to check back on 11/16 to see if you’ve won.

All About Worship Plus Launch

We are so grateful that since 2005 we’ve had the opportunity to serve the worship community around the world by providing encouragement, inspiration, and resources. As you know almost all of the content that we provide is free. We work diligently to create unique content, exclusive to All About Worship, such as our podcast and articles.

We are now offering a Plus Membership for those that are interested in not only helping us continue, but also gaining access to valuable content.

Here are some of the features that Plus Members have access to:

-Two new exclusive training videos (about 5 minutes each) every month from worship leaders/speakers like: Jared Anderson, Chris McClarney, Dwayne Moore, and others.

-Ability to submit one song a month to the All About Worship Podcast, which has several thousand listeners worldwide. We will carefully select one song from our members’ submissions to feature on every off week of the podcast, which is usually 2-3 times a month.

-Access to worship training teleseminar archive AND free registration to future teleseminars.

-Access to exclusive bonus interviews, giveaways and more.

The value of these benefits far exceed $3.99 a month, but we want to make the Membership available to as many people as possible, so we are keeping the monthly fee at a very low cost. Please consider becoming a Plus Member, not only for the content, but to support what we are doing. Your membership is vital in ensuring that we are able to continue to do what we do at All About Worship.

If you sign up by November 5th, we’ll enter you into a giveaway for your chance to win Worship Vocal Workshop DVD by Paul Baloche, Kari Jobe, and others.

Head over to our Plus Membership Signup page for sample videos and for more details. Thanks so much!

-Wisdom M.

Why Did The Worship Leader Cross The Road?

…because God called him to mentor the young guy on the sidewalk with a guitar in his hand.

I am a big believer in mentoring. I believe that every church leader should be mentoring at least one person, but preferably more. Maybe the reason I believe in it so much is that when I was in my pre-teen years, a couple of church leaders took me under their wings and mentored me.

First, it was my youth pastor, who was also the drummer of the church. I was a part of a small Korean church at the time. I had moved to the United States just a few years back. I was still learning English and still felt out of place in the English-speaking youth group. My youth pastor started spending time with me one-on-one, teaching me how to play the drums. It was very exciting for me. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long because he left the church, for reasons I did not know.

Then, there was our choir director. He started taking time with me after school, to teach me how to play the guitar. Not only that, he started teaching me worship songs. He helped me start to come out of my shell and start singing out loud, which I hated to do.

In high school, I picked up the bass guitar and ended up joining a worship band in my senior year. We got invited to many different churches and events to lead worship. I didn’t tell many people at my church (a large, mainly Caucasian church) about my bass playing, but word got around and my youth pastor found out about it. One Sunday morning, he saw me and said, “Hey Wisdom, I just heard that you play the bass! Go in the youth center and play with the team this morning. They’re rehearsing and we have a bass guitar waiting for you on stage!”

That was my first Sunday, of many Sundays, as a part of the youth worship team. From there, I became the first student worship leader for the youth service and eventually ended up being in charge of the whole team…(and later became the youth pastor). I also started leading worship for the adult services on a regular basis. I never imagined I would lead 1,000 adults in worship as a young student. It was the grace of God and my youth pastor believing that God can use teenagers.

In my adult life, I’ve been in different leadership roles. I’ve been a youth pastor as well as a worship pastor. In whatever role God entrusted me in, I always believed that one of my main jobs is to mentor others, young and old. Mentoring is not just about age; you don’t have to just mentor those younger than you. I’ve mentored individuals on the worship team twice my age, but spiritually still young.

Worship leaders, if you’re not regularly spending time training up and mentoring others, I encourage you to pray and ask God to bring individuals to mind that He wants you to mentor. Don’t start mentoring someone just because you need someone to fill in when you’re on vacation. Mentor someone because you want to help that person discover and grow in their gifts so they can better serve the Body of Christ. You never know…you could be mentoring the next Matt Redman or Kari Jobe.

===
Article written by Wisdom Moon, founder of All About Worship.

Kari Jobe Interview with All About Worship

Wisdom Mooon, founder of All About Worship, recently interviewed, worship leader/songwriter/recording artist, Kari Jobe.

AAW: Your solo project from Integrity Music is filled with beautiful songs that not only express your heart, but are being used in churches all over. Share with us your experience working on this project… How long did it take? What are some of your highlights from that process?

KARI: This project was a desire of my heart for a really long time. A lot of the songs on this record came straight from my journals. It’s an expression of me pouring out my heart to God In moments of praise…as well as moments of brokenness. It was wonderful to finally have the CD recorded and ready to go because I knew it would allow me to step into a new season with God in what I was going to write about. It’s been an amazing journey as well since the CD came out. God has been blessing it and people are writing in constantly telling us what the songs are doing to help their churches and their personal lives!

AAW: One of the songs on the album, “Healer,” received a lot of controversy when a scandal was revealed with the songwriter. Could you share with us what made you decide to include that song on the album?

KARI: I wanted to keep it on the album because a lot of close family friends were receiving a lot of ministry from the song. I cried many tears over hearing the whole story…but I knew it was the truth about the word of God. I also want to be a change agent in my generation..to not just write people off when they fall or have sin revealed. To be a generation that shows grace and walks people through restoration in order to step back into the calling God has on their lives. No one is perfect…and we need to all cry out for His grace and strength to stand against the enemy and be strong. Some times those around us need our help. I felt that leaving this song on the album was a statement of grace…as well as not letting the enemy win since the song was already blessing so many. I’m so glad I left it on there!

AAW: Which song on the album was the most fun to write and/or record and why?

KARI: “Joyfully” was a lot of fun to write! It brought a smile to my face as we wrote this one! Ed Cash got the first part of the melody idea while helping his wife fold laundry…and then Ed, Mia Fieldes, and myself all sat down to fully craft the song. It was fun.

AAW: Could you share some helpful tips for co-writing? What have you found works well and does not work well?

KARI: You have to go in prepared with some ideas or at least some themes to work on. Give options of stuff you could write on so that the person or people you’re working with can see what they feel that they can connect to and run with. It’s also important to hear God on what songs you can co-write on and which one’s maybe He wants you and Him to finish. He’ll tell you.

AAW: If you could say one thing to all the young girls who are aspiring singers/songwriters, what would it be?

KARI: Journal, journal, journal. A lot of my songs come out of the time I spend with God. It’s also important to be a good steward of going back and crafting and really working on your songs. Most of them do not come in 2 minutes…the ones that really impact people’s lives are the ones that take a journey and process to write…be faithful to spend time with God, journal and see what happens!!

AAW: What can we expect from you in 2010-2011? What’s coming up?

KARI: A new album. New songs. New stuff!! : ) I’m writing and planning some new things now. Really excited about the direction God is taking me! I will give details and timelines through twitter and my website as I know the timing! : )

AAW: A question we ask at the end of every interview…share with us your most embarrassing moment while leading worship.

KARI: Oh goodness. Just one? Ha. I think one of them would be that as a service was starting, I greeted all the people and had them stand to their feet…then I said, “are you ready to worship the lamb of lambs?”…haha! It should be King of kings, or Lord of lords…not lamb of lambs. Hahahaha!

===

Visit Kari’s website and find her on Twitter. Be sure to check out her latest album on iTunes. If you’d like to be entered to win a copy of her latest CD, just leave a comment (at least two sentences) on this post or TWEET a link to this post and mention @allaboutworship and this shortened url: http://bit.ly/cS0K26 . Deadline is Monday, September 20th, 9pm CST. We’ll pick two random winners.

Here is Kari’s new music video of “You Are For Me”:

The Story Behind “Revelation Song” with Kari Jobe & Jennie Lee Riddle

Here’s the story behind “Revelation Song”, made popular by worship artists like Kari Jobe and Phillips, Craig & Dean. Interviews include the writer of the song – Jennie Lee Riddle.

How have you or your church been impacted by this song?

« Previous Entries