When I tried to find the new CD by Matt Maher titled Welcome To Life, I could not find it anywhere. I was listening to the CD around the house to get to know the songs and had driven around with it in the car. Yet, it wasn’t in any of those places. Then one evening I heard music coming from my 15 year-old son’s room. He was listening to “Void,” a song on the CD, with the volume almost all the way up. The song has a very modern, alternative-rock sound with cool electric guitar riffs. It's a song about having an empty feeling in your life and knowing that nothing in this world can fill it. It takes Jesus to plug up that hole. My son said he had heard me playing the CD and really liked the way it sounded. Maher has a very youthful, alternative sound, much like Greg Walton, Curtis Stephan, or Tom Booth. The CD starts off with the title track, “Welcome To Life,” as Maher does a great take of the Beatles' “Magical Mystery Tour.” Sounding very Paul McCartney-ish in vocals, Maher wants us to hop on board the wonderful journey of life and know that it may be bumpy, but "the glorious Son"  will help us and be our guide. Another rockin’ tune is “All Glory To God.” It's a classic song you’ve heard, done very electric! Great beat, and this could be played on contemporary radio. Maher switches to a slower ballad on “Jesus, My Everything,” a sweet song of devotion, asking Jesus to take us just as we are. Another ballad on the CD is “Set Me As  A Seal,” in which Maher does a beautiful, slow duet with Jenny Pixler. This is followed by another deeply moving song of love called simply, “I Love You, Lord.” What more can you say? Giving an almost Middle Eastern sound is “Isaiah 61,” which tells of the mission of the afflicted. Maher has taken much of the text from this scripture and set it to an awesome blend of vocals and music. The last song on the CD is perfectly called “Lead Me Home.” What else could you think after being told, Welcome To Life, but to know we have a great reward after this life?  Matt Maher has made a great CD. How many CDs have you found like this in a 15 year-old's room?
(This would be a great gift for someone who is graduating this year.)

CatholicMusicNetwork.com is also offering Matt Maher’s first CD called The End and the Beginning. It was this CD that earned him the Unity Award for “Best New Artist of the Year.”  Mixing alternative rock styles and gentle ballads, “The End and the Beginning” is packed with slick, superbly recorded songs.  "Love Has Come" opens the album with a big, energetic sound marked by driving drums, a steady groove and excellent guitar work. His spellbinding "Litany" was used in the Papal Evening Prayer at World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto, where Matt was a featured performer. "You Know Who I Am" was co-written by friend and mentor Tom Booth, who sings and plays bass and percussion on several songs. The title track, a fast-paced rock gem extolling the Eucharist as a glimpse of the "heavenly banquet," closes the album with a rush. The End and the Beginning is only the beginning for this gifted young songwriter and musician.

 Unlike his previous two solo CDs, Golden and Follow, Chris Padgett’s new CD called Wonder is not just an album of praise and worship songs. There are some here, but many songs hearken back to the Christian alternative rock sound of Scarecrow and Tinmen. One of the first song titles that will strike you is “Plankeye.” No, it is not a new GI Joe character, but a description of the kind of guy Jesus talks about who tells others about the splinter in their eye while having a 2x4 piece of wood blinding them in their own. Defending the name of Jesus the focus of the song, “Friend Like That.” In today’s world you hear His name abused in so many ways, and we just take it. Padgett says, “I will give my life to rescue your name. I will bear your cross because you are my friend...” Dreams Come True” is a love song not only to Padgett’s wife, but to the idea of family, as well. It takes a man and a woman to make the dream of family life come true, and God is the center of that love since God is love.  Why is it that even when we are at a low point in our life and we could turn towards God, we don’t? This is the question asked in “Why Do You Run.” We know God loves us and our eyes should be on His. “Wonderful, Counselor” is a song that not only rocks out, but gives glory to God in the highest. The hidden message in the song is to those friends who do not understand the change when you give your life completely to God. Are they hibernating?  Listening to the title track, “Wonder (Joyful Desperation),” I can’t help but think about all the recent discoveries in space that we have been able to see. The black hole eating another black hole, the clusters of stars never seen and the possibilities of another planet in our own system are just some of the new wonders God has given us. It is awesome to think about. Padgett shares that feeling of standing in wonder and contemplation of what the Lord has done in all things. Songs that I am sure Padgett does on his nationwide speaking tours are also here, like “Lord, Thank You,” and “So Amazing.”  Padgett has a little fun on the secret untitled track #12. Do not Wonder if you should get this new Chris Padgett CD. Check it out!

Chris Muglia’s CD Our God Is Here is an album for those who can’t get enough praise and worship music. It contains 10 original songs and 2 previously recorded songs, that provide the listener with an insight into Muglia's life and his love of God. Inspirational songwriting, combined with his soft, powerful voice, has earned Muglia the opportunity to perform throughout the country. He recently toured with world-renowned entertainer, Tony Melendez. The title track opens up as a reminder that “Our God Is Here.” "Here in this time, here in this place, Here we are standing face to face. Here for the broken, here for the strong, Here in this temple we belong.  Here in our hearts, here in our lives, Our God is here…” Knowing that He is here, we now must seek God out and tell Him that we love Him. That's the idea behind the song, “Lord I Seek You.” It's a great song of love for the Lord.  Calling “You’re Worthy Of My Praise" anything but an all-out praise song would be silly. This song will make you want to raise your hands to Heaven and sing the chorus out loud. It’s really upbeat. Surrendering to the will of God is the theme of “Spirit Of God,” a rather slow and moving song. “Lover of Life” is a memorial to Muglia's grandfather, who provided Chris with his musical start.  “Let It Be Done” challenges us to be open to the call that the Father has for each of us.  Other songs include those that you will be familiar with at Mass in songs and prayers, such as “The Nicene Creed,” “Our Father,” and “Taste And See.”  Our God Is Here brings the listener beyond the music and into worship.

An earlier release of Chris Muglia’s Change Your World is also now available at CatholicMusicNetwork.com. This recording is filled with parables any Christian would find helpful in their journey with Christ. The 14-song album leads the listener to expand his horizons through “Change Your World”, “Paint the World Colorful“ and “Masterpiece.”  An anthem for all married couples, “God As My Witness,” reminds us that couples can get through anything with commitment to God and each other.  Through everything we encounter, “Love Someone to Heaven” reinforces our call on Earth.