For the unfamiliar, a bit of background info on my personal hero. Here are his vitals from Wikipedia:
| Born | May 27, 1974 |
|---|---|
| Origin | Memphis, TN, United States |
| Genres | Singer-Songwriter Contemporary Christian |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1993-present |
| Labels | Independent (1994-1996) Warner Alliance (1996-1998) Essential (1998-2003) INO Records (2003-present) |
I do actually have issues with a couple of the things that the bio says, but that'll come as we get into this post.
I first came across Derek as a member of Caedmon's Call in the late 90's. Someone had tossed me a copy of their self-titled album and I instantly fell in love. Realizing that there were really 3 lead singers and two songwriters in the group I slowly started notice that the songs on that album that spoke to me the most were the ones that Derek had written. There are several songs on the album that I really identified with, but the 2nd last track "Centre Aisle" remains one of my all-time most cherished songs. It was very timely for me since during that period I was dealing with the deaths of a number of friends which had all occurred in less than two years. The song is one that Derek wrote about a family friend who had committed suicide, though I have found that it says a lot about death in general and not just suicides. For those who are interested, here is a link to a journal where Derek explains the genesis of the song.
I listened to that album a lot, probably 5 to 1 for any other CD I had at the time. I had become such a big fan that I was counting the days until their next CD was released. I can remember bugging the poor woman at the store, "Well I know it's arriving on the 26th, but what time on the 26th??" Yeah, I'm fairly certain she wanted me to never enter the door again, but when the 26th arrived I showed up, waited for 3 hours and finally bought 3 copies.... just to be safe. 40 Acres, what a great album and once again a huge influence on me. Much like the previous record, the songs that Derek had written seemed to be the ones that stuck with me the most and yet again one song in particular really spoke to me.
Not long after this CD was released I finally had the chance to see Caedmon's Call live for the first time.
At the end of the first set, despite my pleas to hear "Centre Aisle" live, Derek stayed onstage while everyone else left and he played "Faith My Eyes". Hearing him do the song solo with just his guitar and vocal, I finally paid closer attention to the lyrics and realized that he had once again written a song that could have been based on my life at the time. It's a song about being away from home and missing those who are closest to you. This is one of the unfortunate realities that I've had to deal with for a large part of my adult life and this songs always helps me get through the tough times.
And so it went for two more records, each time I would get ahold of the CD as soon as humanly possible and just absorb it. Each time Derek's words would speak to me in a new and incredibly insightful way. And every time there would be one song that just grabbed my heart and made me wonder, "how does he always know exactly what to write to help me though life??"
Then a day came that I never thought possible, Derek announced that he was leaving the band. I probably shed a few tears when I heard this news. Caedmon's Call without Derek Webb just wouldn't be Caedmon's Call. Luckily the blow was softened by the news that he would be releasing his first solo album soon. The day that CD first landed on my ears was a big day for me. Derek had clearly chosen to make a very "non-caedmon's" sounding album on purpose. Not only that, but I could clearly see why he had chosen to leave the group. Derek had always been the one in the band who was writing the more "difficult" songs. The songs that weren't just light entertainment, but they really challenged the listener to think and question what they believe. It was clear that he had come to a point where there were things that he needed to say that would cause too much controversy for the band.
Derek's first solo album, "She Must and Shall Go Free" touched on a number of difficult subjects but it was first and foremost an album that was aimed directly at what he saw as the major failings of the church today. And Derek took issue with those failings as only he can; directly, thoughtfully, fairly and in brutal honestly. The song that really stood out on this CD was a track called "Wedding Dress" which took aim at the tendency of people to always be looking for "other loves" when they have the greatest love in their life already.
And so on it has gone for every record from the first to the most recent. "I see things upside down" was musically experimental and challenged the listener to realize that the way the world sees things tends to be backwards from what is actually right. There is a song on that CD called "Nothing Is Ever Enough" that was song of the day on my last post. My reasons for being affected by that song 6 years ago are different from the reasons that it has really been speaking to me strongly in recent weeks, but that just goes to show that such amazing lyrics can hit you on so many levels.
"Mockingbird" was up next and this was a very timely album about topics such as politics, social justice and war. It was an album that was intended to generate discussion and debate and I think he succeeded very well at that goal. The last song on the CD called "Love Is Not Against The Law" really hit me hard. Not all that dissimilar to the concept of his previous album, this song points out a lot of things that may seem odd in today's society about truly loving those around us.
"The Ringing Bell" carried on with the political theme that he had begun with "Mockingbird" but looked more closely at our views on war and violence. The final song on the CD really stuck with me as it speaks about how although there are a lot of terrible things that happen in our world, like the title says, "This Too Shall Be Made Right".
There was a lot of controversy surrounding his last CD "Stockholm Syndrome", mostly due to some strong lyrics. His label was refusing to release the CD unless he made changes to one song. Derek chose instead to release the album without the song and then offer the missing track as a free download online. Stylistically it was a major departure from his previous work. Though every album has a very unique sound, this one completely abandoned the guitar (acoustic or electric) driven style that is part of everything Derek had done before. This album was basically entirely electronic music. At the time this album came out, the song which spoke to me right away was the controversial track called "What Matters More". This song points out the very large problem in society of our judging people on what we see as "wrong" with them instead of looking at the things which are really important. In the last little while though, the song that has really been on my mind is a track called "I Love/Hate You". A beautiful tune with lyrics that once again seem like Derek knows exactly what is going on in my life and exactly what to write so I know I'm not alone.
Shortly after The Ringing Bell was released, another great thing happened. It was announced that Derek would be re-joining Caedmon's Call. The album that has been released since his return is called "Overdressed" and is a beautiful return to what the band does best sonically and lyrically. No surprise the song that really stood out to me the most was a tune Derek wrote called "Share In The Blame". It's a very straightforward song that simply tells us to stop blaming others for the problems we all face and look in the mirror to realize that we are all responsible for the world we live in.
I don't know where he's going next musically or lyrically, but I do know that I'll have the music as soon as possible and I'm fairly certain in saying that it will make me pause to think and likely reconsider some of my views on life and the world around me.
Song Of The Day
Clearly this has to be a Derek Webb tune. I've decided to make today's song something from "She Must And Shall Go Free". The song is called "Lover" and it really has been swimming around in my head for the last few weeks.
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