Music Review: Anything Worth Saying by Aaron Shust

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great songs that are fun to listen to and focus you on God

Cons: Two very short songs, can get lost in similar sounding artists

The Bottom Line:

Worshipful debut

Recognizable huge hit

Put him on the map

Something Worth Hearing

This last weekend, I went to a concert where Aaron Shust was the opening act. I hadn't heard of him before, but I was impressed enough to buy Anything Worth Saying.

Aaron spent four years as the worship pastor at a church in Atlanta. This shows through on the CD. The focus is most certainly on God, with several songs that could easily be used in a church service. For example, "Matchless" is a great upbeat song praising the name Jesus Christ now as a warm up for eternity. "Glory to You" could easily be a call to worship with a chorus that states:

The reason we're here and the reason we sing

Is to thank You oh God and give praise to the King

We lift our hands and we lift our eyes and we sing

You are holy.

A couple of the songs have familiar in Christian music themes of surrender. For example, "Give it All Away" says

All of my plans, all of my dreams,

I lay them down before your feet.

Easy to say but hard to do. On the other hand, "More then Wonderful" is refreshingly honest when it admits

And although it seems at times it all means nothing to me

You've got to know that I love You

You've got to know that I need You.

The highlight of the album is "My Savior My God," the first single released to radio. Aaron took an old, forgotten hymn he discovered and gave it a new melody and chorus. It's a fun song with a great statement of faith that builds to a driving chorus.

While the CD lists twelve tracks, two of them are under a minute each. The CD opens with "Give Me Words," a prayer that Aaron feels will be one day become a full song, but he wanted to share it with us now. "In Your Name" is a slower version of the bridge from "Matchless." I wasn't sure about it the first couple times through, but it works well as a transition into the final song, "One Day.

Aaron's heart comes through in these songs. His desire to praise our great God is refreshing and touched my heart.

The CD is a guitar driven debut. Musically, it doesn't stand out from the many adult contemporary/worship projects already released. This can be a drawback or a blessing. Personally, that's my favorite style, so I love it. The melodies are fun, easy to learn, and very catchy. I have already found several of these songs stuck in my head.

I am very glad I got a change to be exposed to Aaron's music and buy Anything Worth Saying. I will enjoy this for quite some time and look forward to more projects from him.

CD Length: 42:23

Tracks:

1. Give Me Words

2. Glory to You

3. Matchless

4. Let the People Praise

5. Stillness (Speak to me)

6. More Wonderful

7. Give it all Away

8. Change the Way

9. My Savior My God

10. Stand to Praise (Psalm 117)

11. In Your Name

12. One Day