In the Company of Angels - Worship back to its roots
Written: Oct 12 '01 (Updated Dec 04 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: A worship album that brings in the full spectrum of CC's talents
Cons: May not be always what you expect
The Bottom Line: If you want original material, a great variety of songs, and to worship with a group who loves our Lord, then this is the album for you.
LifeStar's Full Review: In the Company of Angels: A Call to Worship by Cae...
Liturgy worship, those words invoke images of monks clothed in drippy brown coverings humming a song that is barely audible, less alone understandable. When I hear those words, the image of a dark, cold sanctuary in a gothic styled cathedral comes to mind. So when I heard that Caedmon’s Call was planning on releasing their own worship album and that it incorporates their style of liturgy worship, I was kinda confused.
Why was I confused? Well, Caedmon’s Call has always been known to be a coffeehouse type of a band. Their songs and lyrics are profound, deep and they are definitely not a boring group of people. Their songs range from the explicit God-focused songs to the God-centered guy or gal struggling with his or her faith, especially when it comes to relationships (like Derek’s!). So it was hard for me to imagine them doing a worship album b/c I couldn’t picture them leading worship in a sanctuary.
I was wrong … my confusion soon turned into excitement and expectation as I waited for this album’s release. It was because I got a chance to hear full clips of their songs on their website. I was left amazed to hear how the songs sounded. I realizes that their liturgy style is actually more of a “let’s return to the point of our worship” attitude.
This album has been such a pleasure to listen to; I’m not exactly sure where to begin. Most of these songs I really like because they all point you back to Christ. They truly are WORSHIP and PRAISE songs as they explicitly center around the marvelous nature of our God and how incomprehensible He is to us at times.
Here’s a taste of what the songs are like: WARNING lots of songs!!!
We Delight – Immediately, CC ushers you in & urges you to worship God. There isn’t any slow intro; the song hits the ground running; not with fast, loud sounds, but with a simple chorus. This song’s basic point is that our true delight and joy ought to be in the One who is called the Word. The very same Word that became a man and died on a tree in order for us to live. This song incorporates many of the new sounds that CC brought in with “Lone Line of Leavers.” There are acoustics, drums, orchestras and electrics. This song truly packs a lot!
We delight in the Law of Your Word
We delight in the Son who was perfect from birth
We delight in the day He’s returning to earth
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Before There Was Time – Here we are treated to an electric bass introduction and then an acoustic strumming away. This song centers on the fact that our God existed long before we ever did. He knew everything that was going to be. He saw mankind’s fall, but He also saw the great salvation that He would provide for us. This song just leaves you with a heart of thankfulness because it reminds us of what we forget so many times. We forget that though we are fallen and have sinned against Him so many times, it’s not as it had caught Him by surprise! He has everything under His control and the proof of it was how He had planned our salvation even before we ever saw any of our days.
The way CC plays this song really conjures up a strong mental image in my mind. It’s of a man standing in the middle of a dark field and the only lights he can see are the stars. As the song progresses I just see the stars spinning around him and eventually just Him falling on His knees and praising God! Our God is truly beautiful!
…Before there were days
There were nights I could not see Your face
But the night could not keep me from grace
When You came and took my place
Thy Mercy – Now here is a hymn sung by our man Derek! The song, however, is not a slow sung hymn, rather it has a nice beat with acoustic and drums as the primary instruments. This song is a simple praise of God’s great mercy upon mankind, especially for one man. It’s just a song that just makes your own heart want to brim with gratefulness to God because of the mercy He’s shown upon us.
Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart.
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart
Dissolved by Thy goodness I fall to the ground
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found
God Who Saves – Here is another semi-slow meditative song sung by our gal Danielle. It’s a good follow-up for Thy Mercy. As in Thy Mercy, God Who Saves continues the message that because of His mercy, He has saved us. This song specifically points at the death and resurrection of our King. It commands its listeners to praise our God because He truly is the one who saves.
So praise the God who saves
Praise the God who bled
Praise the God who was nailed to a tree
And wore our sins upon His death.
Who You Are – This is, next to Before There Was Time, one of the best songs that have come off this album! It starts off with a jazzy piano intro that reminds you of the roaring 1920’s! Then the drums follow with a great rhythm to it. This song’s point is that we exist solely because of who our God is. After being reminded of the mercy and love of our God in the previous two songs, here we are reminded that our foundation of who we are is found in Him. He is the Great I Am isn’t He?
For who You are
You’re the Great I am
For who You are
You’re the Son of Man
For who You are
I am who I am
Carry Your Love – Now to be honest, when I first heard this song, I was left confused. The reason was CC starts off with a very cool electric intro. It’s reminiscent of what they did with “What You Want” in their last album. Therefore, when I first heard it, I was expecting to hear Derek screaming His lungs out again. Instead, I was treated with very cool sounds, but the tempo never picked up from where it started. One gets other instruments such as drums and even a Gospel choir, but nothing else. So I wasn’t too fond of this song at first, but as always, you need to listen to CC songs more than once to get their point.
As I relistened to this song, I am given a sense of urgency with the electric intro. As though a clock is ticking away and time is slowly slipping away. It all began to make sense as I learned that this song reminds us that we must tell people about Jesus. The previous songs were about His glory, His honor & mercy, but this song gets us to the place where we need to tell others!
We are called out; we are ransomed
We are not of the world we’re in
We are chosen we are blessed
To bring light to the lives of men
… Wake us from our sleep
This is Your time; this is Your place
God Of Wonders – Now this is one out of two songs on this album that was recorded live. We have a chance to hear how CC sounds unplugged. This song, God Of Wonders, has been made famous by Third Day & Caedmon’s Call. It’s truly an amazing song and what an awesome chance to hear CC sing this without Third Day. Warning though, if you’re expecting this to be a rocking song as with their joint version, you’ll be disappointed. This version is mellower as it seems that CC wants to have the worshipers meditate upon the words as their singing it. Brilliant!
God of wonder beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares Your majesty
You are holy, holy
I Boast No More – Here is another hymn song and no less Derek sings it! He apparently likes to sing the songs that deal with one man just crying out to God. Well, this song definitely fits him. It deals with the same attitude that Paul wrote about in his letters about no longer boasting in his own power or strength. Derek really gives the listener a chance to see and feel what Paul might have been like in his relationship with Jesus. You can hear just the desperateness in Derek’s voice as he admits that his own glory is nail to the cross… wow.
Yes, and I must, I will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus’ sake
O may my soul be found in Him
And of His righteousness partake
Amen amen
Oh Lord Your Love – This song is, instrumentally, the opposite of Carry Your Love. Here CC starts with a slow, mellow acoustic intro with a touch of electric. Then once we reach the chorus, the tempo meter jumps and we hear electrics, bass, drums, tambourines and Cliff stretching his lungs out. This makes sense as the song conveys the sense of a man who is just meditating on God’s greatness. This guy just ponders about God’s acts of love and then in the chorus He declares that God’s burdens are wonderful!
Oh Lord your love
Is new with every morning
Your faithfulness
It gets me through the night
You bid me come
You know that I am weary
Your yoke is easy
Your burden is light
Warrior – This is the 2nd live song on this album. It sounds like it was used to close off their worship time. This song is a declaration that our strength truly is found in our Lord. We aren’t the ones who fight the battles, He fights for us. It’s just a very simply statement that has a lot to say.
The Lord is a Warrior
The Lord is mighty in battle
The Lord is a Warrior
The Lord of Hosts is He
Laden with guilt – As the album nears its end, we have one more slow meditative song to listen to. It’s actually a hymn written by Isaac Watts, the same guy who wrote, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” The way that CC plays this song conveys the feeling of restrained emotions. It’s ironic way to sing this song, as the title demands to hear a person crying tears of sorrow, but we are given the image of a man who is holding his emotions like a dam holds water. There are leaks here and there, but it is very uniform in its style, and I think that it shows how well CC understands human nature. So many times, when laid with guilt, we try to contain it, so when we sing songs such as this, we can hear the cracks in our voices, and feel our hearts just desperately wanting to cry. Overall, a very interesting way to sing this song.
Laden with guilt and full of fears
I fly to Thee my Lord
And not a glimpse of hope appears
But in thy written word
The volume of my Father’s grace
Does all my grief’s assuage
Here I behold my Savior’s face
In every page
The Danse – When we hit the last song, we now understand why “Laden with Guilt” was so restrained. The Danse is a simple praise song, sung from the perspective of King David… he Dancing King! Here we are allowed to redirect our emotions of guilt into joy as we praise the name of our God who has saved us. CC apparently wanted their listeners to not only grief over their sins, but to not allow the grief to be all we feel. Instead to take the emotions and redirect them into a sacrificial praise to Jesus’ name! Now that’s cool!
We must danse, danse, danse, danse in God’s honor
We must yield all our steps into the King
We must danse, danse, danse, danse in God’s honor
Let His praise ring throughout the earth.
As you can tell, yes I really love this album. It is refreshing to hear a praise and worship album that has pretty much original material. It’s also more refreshing to be led in worship by a group who desires for His Heart as well, not just for record sales. The album is called “In the Company Of Angels.” As I’ve thought about this title, I’ve come to understand one of implications of such a title… when one is in the company of angels, one is in the company of beings whose sole purpose is to exalt and extol praise and worship to the only true God of the universe. With that just brimming all around you, how can you not praise God?! Wow…
The focus of the latest release from folk-rock group Caedmons Call is clear. After all, their new CD, In the Company of Angels, is subtitled \A Call t...More at Christianbook.com
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