Matthew West became a familiar name to me a few years ago but it wasn’t until I sat down to listen to his latest album, Into the Light: Life Stories & Live Songs that I really took the time to get to know this artist. I’ve heard his song, “Hello My Name Is” on Christian radio more times than I can count so it was exciting to think, “Oh! This is that guy’s album!”

So while I did enjoy the album, I enjoyed the lyrics and stories behind the songs (read here) more than the album as a whole simply because of personal taste in the musical style of the album. So to be clear, this is a fantastic contemporary Christian album. It’s just not for me. I wonder if he has a straight worship album? That would be more my style. Though I did find myself putting “We Are the Broken” and “Waitin’ On A Miracle” on repeat. Aside from the lyrics on each and every song, I did love how crisp everything sounds on the album. How pure it was. It’s a really beautiful piece of work.

The Deluxe Edition includes a DVD which features an hourlong intimate concert and “bonus features” that tell the stories behind the songs, “Unchangeable,” “We Are the Broken,” “Love Stands Waiting,” and “Moved by Mercy” all of which didn’t make it into the final cut of the concert footage. I went straight for these testimonies, which are each under five minutes and worth every minute of watching. Bottom line, if you enjoy this album, I highly encourage you to just go for it and get the deluxe edition. It’s worth it.