Meredith Andrews- Worth It All Review


Radio Ready: Not For a Moment (After All), Start With Me, Strong God, Open Up the Heavens, Pieces, Worth It All

iPod Picks: The Gospel Changes Everything, All I Ask, Burn Away, Not For a Moment, Open Up the Heavens, Strong God, Worth It All

I've always liked Meredith Andrews. I felt she was primed to take up Twila Paris' mantle as the inspo/pop/worship queen. Unfortunately Word Records grossly under-promoted Andrews' excellent sophomore album, As Long As It Takes (despite two Dove Awards, decent sales and the successful single "Can Anybody Hear Me", no further singles were released) and it seemed that Meredith was going to fade into the background of the worship movement. However, after the success of her top 10 radio hit "Not For a Moment (After All)", Word gave her another shot as the flagship artist on their new worship imprint, Word Worship, and Meredith has released her crowning achievement with Worth It All. This time around, Andrews takes a decidedly corporate-worship bent, which allows Meredith's songwriting and vocal skills to shine. Gone are the calculated lite-radio backtracks and careful vocal arrangements that characterized her first two albums; this time, from-the-gut passionate singing and epic orchestral arrangements, that would make Elevation Worship and The Parachute Band proud, fill this record and help Andrews stand out in the midst of a glut of worship based releases. 

While Andrews is not recreating the wheel lyrically here, she knows how to turn a phrase in such a way that makes the simplest doctrinal truth into a personal and deep theological statement. Familiar lines such as "Who is like our God? Strong to save us... our Deliverer... There is no one like You, God, You are high and lifted up, You are Holy!" (from "Strong God") seem simple enough but Andrews sings it with such conviction that its like its being declared for the first time. Similarly, songs such as "Burn Away" and "All I Ask" push Andrews' vocals to the limit in a way that is not painful or forced but properly expresses the lyric and passion of the song. Tracks such as the future worship standards "Not For a Moment" and the title cut allow Andrews to bring her distinctive sound to the masses in a palatable and endearing fashion that should easily win over Kari Jobe and Chris Tomlin fans. However, the jewel of the record is the plaintive ballad "The Gospel Changes Everything". Meredith sings lines such as "the Gospel changes everything, it is changing me" with a simple conviction that takes the listener on a journey though their own life and reminds them of how the Gospel changed them as well. 

While the ballads far out weigh the uptempo, Worth It All never drags or feel lethargic. Each song is given space to breathe and live in its own right but they all feel as if they belong together- even the radio friendly album closer "Pieces" has its place as it draws the listener back to the beginning of the record all over again. This is, an album not to be missed. Here's to hoping Word gives us more than one radio single this time around so that more people can experience and be exposed to the beautiful music on Worth It All.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christian Artists I Miss

Image
1. DC Talk When it was announced that Kevin Max was joining the newly reformed Audio Adrenaline, small glimmers of hope sprang into the hearts of 90's CCM fans everywhere as they imagined the mother of all tour possibilities: Toby Mac & Diverse City with Michael Tait & Newsboys and Kevin Max & Audio Adrenaline... and since they're all together why not throw in a DC Talk reunion!!! Seriously someone needs to make this happen! NOW! While its more likely for Steven Curtis Chapman and Lecrae to do a duets album at this point than for DC Talk to make a reunion album with the heavy touring and recording schedules TobyMac, Tait & K-Max now have with their new bands, a live reunion to sing old DC Talk hits backed by Newsboys & Audio A (or even Diverse City) would be EPIC BEYOND ALL REASON and, honestly, they need to make this happen, even if its only for one night.  2. Twila Paris It's not so much that Twila Paris has completely
Read more

Indie Artist Rundown

Image
Over the years, many of our favorite artists have left their major labels and chosen to release their music independently. Some were dropped by their labels due to low sales, artistic disagreements, or age. Still others leave their major labels for artistic freedom, financial independence or ministry purposes. Some fade away and cease to release new music but others thrive in the indie scene. Now more than ever before, many former heavy hitters of major labels are taking the indie route and finding great success and wider ministry opportunities. Below I have listed 20 of my favorite artists that used to be signed to a major label who have chosen the independent route and are the better for it. 1. Audrey Assad There was never a chance that Audrey Assad was going to stay at Sparrow Records. Despite her massive critical acclaim and solid, steady record sales, Sparrow could not figure out how to get Audrey's songs on the radio; therefore, limiting her appeal and exposure. I
Read more

The Corners- Born At Last Review

Image
I am usually very cautious when reviewing independent artists since, for many of them, there is a reason why they are independent. Usually there is a sound quality issue, vocalist problem or lyrical awkwardness that makes it clear why the the artist has not been signed. However, in The Corners' case, the quality is all there- it appears they are either too good for a major label or they just haven't been discovered yet- let's hope this problem is rectified upon the release of Born at Last . After one listen to their forthcoming debut full-length set, Born at Last , it is clear that these Hannibal, MO natives are more concerned with artistic integrity than commercialism. The first five tracks are an excellent showcase of the band's diverse lyrical, vocal and instrumental talents, the most elaborate of which being the dramatic five-minute epic "Ballad of a Young Man". Lyrically, every song is grounded in scripture but does not spoon feed the listener. Many
Read more