Customer Reviews

Whispered & Shouted (Dig)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved his first album "Anything Worth Saying" ... so I preordered his second album "Whispered and Shouted" believing it would be just as wonderful as the first. I popped it into my cd player and gave it a lesson ... and disappointment slowly filled me. I was looking for that great song that just left me in awe or singing for joy (More Wonderful, My Savior My God) ... but they all seemed to pale in comparison to his first album. So disappointedly I put it in my car for a "rainy day". And then one day I decided to put it in and give it another listen while stuck in a traffic jam. I read his liner notes and began to understand the stories and reasons behind the songs ... and as I got to see his point of view on our wonderful creator ... I couldn't help singing his songs of praise. My favorites are surprisingly "Long Live the King" (I personally hated this one because of the Long Live the Kings at the end of the chorus) ... but the lyrics touched me personally ... "There are always days when I don't feel like singing, there are always days when I don't care at all, But I know the King of all creation reigns completely, over every moment great and small". As a worship leader I sometimes run into times of not feeling like singing or even caring ... but then I remember what God has done for me and I do it out of gratitude to Him. "Watch Over Me" and "Can't Hide from Your Love" ... another favorite, sometimes I feel lonely and like there is no one there for me ... but God shows me in the beautiful ways that He is there for me. Life Itself ... another great song that gives us a yearning to spend our first hour with God. Worthy/All I Do ... a simple yet great song of worship to God. I love it ... the instrumentation is different, almost other worldly ... :)

Yup the album definitely grows on you

I loved Aaron Shust's "Anything Worth Saying. I found myself not listening to anything else, so I was excited, but hesitant to see he had released "Whispered and Shouted". Hesitant, because I was still enjoying the debut effort and wondered how it could be topped. On first listen it was obviously musically different. "Long Live the King" doesn't ease into worship, it explodes into it. From there, Shust takes you through an experience with God that ends in reverent praise in "Worthy/Let All I Do". Aaron still produces doctrinally rich singable lyrics that permeate the Spirit and evoke praise to the King. "The Name of Jesus" is a subtle yet powerful praise anthem that brings truth into perspective and glory to the King. This is as good as his first, but rather than rate one against the other, just play either and worship! That's what it's all about and that's what Aaron Shust's music does.

I discovered Aaron Shust while he was touring with Shane & Shane. In fact, I thought he was the best part of that evening, and I've enjoyed his debut ever since. I haven't enjoyed this CD nearly as much. I even tried setting it aside for a while and coming back to it. It didn't work.

Don't get me wrong, there are some good tracks here. I love the pop/rock style. The disc opener, "Long Live the King" is fun. He's finished "Give Me Words to Speak," and it is easily my favorite track on the disc. It's a quieter ballad that really works. And I find the melody of "Can't Hide from Your Love" hauntingly beautiful. Plus the lyrics catch my spirit with the prayer of surrender.

And while there are several songs that work so well, the overall CD is disappointing. Everything really blends together. Part of that is on purpose as the tracks are designed to meld one into the other. But they all have that guitar based pop/rock feel with very little to distinguish one song from the other. Some of the songs have good lyrics and the focus of all of them is still on God. But the music does nothing to grab my ear and keep me focused on the songs. After about one or two, I find my mind wandering. And there are several songs I don't like, like the hip hop inspired "Like I Never Felt Before" or the psychedelic last track.

Most of the songs themselves are good. It's just a case where the CD is less then the sum of its parts.

Aaron Shust has a wonderful way with words. I love his descriptions of how and why he wrote the words on Whispered and Shouted. They really spoke to me. I particularly like "Give Me Words To Speak" and "Watch Over Me". Great CD!

CCM's 2006 New Artist of the Year has returned with his second album. Aaron Shust enjoyed well-deserved success last year with his debut disc Anything Worth Saying. This time around, he continues where he left off with vulnerable lyrics and worshipful themes. The opener, "Long Live the King" is a nice modern rock track. "Give Me Words to Speak" is the finished product of the opening interlude on his first album, and it turns out to be one of the best tracks, even though in the liner notes he says he originally didn't want it on this album. On "Can't Hide From Your Love", Aaron hits some impressive high notes with a lilt that he didn't show on his first album, and lyrically bares his soul with great authenticity. This record is a great worship experience with phenomenal songwriting, just less up-tempo material this time.

Mr. Shust has a nack for writing from the heart and graciously includes excerpts from his personal journal in the CD sleeve. He demonstrates himself to be a man of God both in written word and music. I would stongly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys U2-style music (i.e. soulful rock with transcendent melodies and lyrics rooted in a deep connection to the Creator, God Almighty). I can't say enough about this one, it's a must have!

I just preordered Aaron Shust's latest album take over because I believe this guy has potential to keep on writing songs that glorify and praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I admit like several reviwers from this album Whispered and Shouted and Anything Worth Saying that it did also take me a few listens of both albums to get where he was coming from and his message in his songs. But as soon as I did, I'll tell you...it caught on me. 'Give Me Words To Speak' and 'My Savior My God' were probably the two songs that really drew me in to Aaron Shust. After hearing them on Klove, I knew I had to check him out. As long as this young rising artist doesn't sellout as several in the Christian music industry appear to be doing these days, he will be greatly blessed by God in the years to come. I'd recommend getting this album along with his debut 'Anything Worth Saying' especially if you want to hear the Completed Version of Give me words to speak. That's the only one I didn't quite understand is why he only put a 17 second sample of a song on his debut that actually isn't fully released till his second album???

Got the digital download version and have been listening to it for weeks on end. Comes with lots of great songs.

I purchased this item as a gift for my daughter. She liked it very much!

I thoroughly enjoyed "Anything Worth Saying," so I was very excited to find a new release from Mr. Shust. For me, the thing that affects me the most are his lyrics. When I'm singing along with these tracks, I am moved into an attitude of worship and thankfulness. My favorites include "The Name of Jesus" "Worthy/All I Do" and "Long Live the King". One thing I especially love is that stories behind each song are included in the liner notes. Try reading those stories and not being affected by them!! Enjoy this great cd!