Pros: The band sounds great and have expanded their horizons, theme wise, and talent wise
Cons: Not enough goofy funs songs, plus Derek Webb leaving CC...
The Bottom Line: Caedmon's Call, after 10 years of play, haven't lost the ability to learn new tricks and expand their talents. A must for any fan and new listener!
LifeStar's Full Review: Back Home by Caedmon's Call
On the way back home…
All right! I’ve been waiting to review this album ever since it came in the mail, but problems arose. These problems involved the fact that I was in the middle of my college midterms, hadn’t submitted my Come Together review, and didn’t listened to the album. However, with the wonderful intuition of Spring Break, I had the pleasure of listening to Back Home by Caedmon’s Call finally! After listening to this album late at nights, in my car, and just singing many of the songs as I’m brushing my teeth, I am proud to say that I LOVE this album!
As it’s been a very long time since I’ve listened to Caedmon’s Call (CC) do any kind of music that wasn’t explicitly for a church worship service, I was very eager to hear what the good old boys (and gal) have come up with. They’ve always been one of my favorite bands and over the years I’ve come to appreciate even their cryptic songs that took a while to “get”. Though I came to this album with great anticipation, there was also some heartache along with this album.
Who the heck is Derek Webb?
CC have been around for over ten years and they’ve become a favorite amongst Christian and non-Christian circles alike. The best description I’ve heard of them is an overgrown coffeehouse band that loves to entertain, plus interact with their listeners in settings like coffee shops (Starbucks anyone?). However, as this album is any indication, change was on the horizon for Caedmon’s Call.
One of the members, Derek Webb, who’s one of the lead vocalists and heavy rifter on the electric guitar, had announced a week after Back Home was released that he left Caedmon’s Call. Now, before one assumes that he left because of the dreaded “irreconcilable differences” tongue-in-cheek statement, it wasn’t that way. After reading his online journal, CC’s journal and other sources, it was more of a growth and ministry matter for both parties.
Derek has grown a lot over the past 10 years. Of all things, the man finally got married! After years of listening to his love-lost, love-gain, love-desired songs, the man finally found a gal who’s as crazy about Jesus as he is! All I can say is this duo definitely suit each other and I wish them the craziest fun-filled loving time in Christ! So in light of these kind of changes, I can see how and why Derek felt it was time to move on and to test out some new roads for his ministry with his new wife.
Either way, I will definitely miss Derek in the CC albums after Back Home. It had taken 3 albums for me to warm up to Derek’s style and now when I actually love it, he’s gone. Music is so ironic…
So what do they mean by Back Home
As with all Caedmon’s Call albums since their Forty Acres album, CC had been bringing up certain themes that ring true throughout each album. With Back Home, the album centers itself on what it means to return to the place where one belongs. The topics of focus range from the prodigal son story, to the woman at the well, to the effects that sun and heat have on wet clay, and a dose of C.S. Lewis material.
Stylistically, Back Home definitely shows signs of a change in influences, song writing, and focuses for the group. With the vacuum created with Derek’s impending departure, one can hear how other members within CC have been stepping up to bat to fill his writing shoes. One of these members, keyboardist Josh Moore, has been a major contributor for the songs, as well has Derek’s wife, Sandra McCracken.
Another noticeable change is the lack of the electric guitar tricks in many of the songs on this album. CC does compensate for this with better arrangement and uses of their other instruments. However, I will definitely miss Derek’s skill at the electric that made him a joy to listen to, especially in Long Line Of Leavers. Through it all though, despite missing that wonderful piece of music in their songs, Back Home has a lot to offer the listener with its honest and thought-provoking lyrics. So let’s dive in!
Song Reviews: Skip down for my concluding thoughts
Only Hope - We begin with CC in this journey back with a stringy dual guitar introduction. Soon we hear one of CC’s lead vocalist, Cliff Young’s signature voice begin to sing the verses to this song. As we progress, with the continuation of the stringy dual guitar play, we are treated with the addition of a tambourine, drums and bass, and Cliff’s wife, Danielle. Even with the addition of all these elements, the band maintains the tempo as a mid-range that allows the listener to hear all of the words clearly. Apparently this relative mellow is reminiscent of how one wants to start an old truck. You don’t want to put that much into the gas as you start the old clunker, but once we get started, the good old truck is ready to take us on this journey.
Only Hope may sound like a cheap throw to gain some hits for the CCM charts, but after listening to this song several times, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is more than just a pop song throw away. Apparently the first two verses in the song were directly taken from a hymn written by Charles Wesley. The rest of the song is the singer’s response to those two verses.
Only Hope deals with the questions of how great is God’s mercy for any sinner. Is His mercy truly that great and awesome that we all can find forgiveness in it? If God’s mercy and grace expressed through that old wooden cross is true, then it truly is the only hope for any person who places his/her trust in Christ. Nothing else can save us, only by what happened on that day.
Depth of mercy, vast and free
So much deeper than the sea
God of love, you heard my cry
Now into your open arms I fly
You Created - I’ve been singing this song non-stop for the last few days. The overall style and power to the song is undeniably irresistible to me. The only way to describe the feel of this song is a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon scene in the desert. There is a sense of urgency and power with this song as one hears Danielle start of the song with the haunting lyrics, “Who is like unto the Lord our God. Who dwelleth on High, who dwelleth on High.” With the excellent use of strings, tambourines, and guitars, this song totally captured my imagination. Kudos also has to go to the sound engineers for how they’ve made Danielle’s voice sound magnificent! The wonders of vocal reverbs!
You Created is a simple song about the awesomeness and greatness of God compared to all the other small “g” gods out there. It focuses on the truth that mankind was created to know God in a personal, intimate relationship. Our souls, our hearts will continue to search for that which fills up the emptiness inside of us, but ultimately God is the only one who can fill up that hole because He’s the one that fits it perfectly.
But You created nothing
That gives me more pleasure than you
And you won't give me something
That gives me more pleasure than you
Walk With Me - After the magnificent sounds of You Created, we are greeted with a slow strumming acoustic that introduces Danielle singing softly into our ears. The tempo stays in a mid-high pace as the additional of other instruments like the bass and electric. Walk With Me is a song that screams out for Danielle’s vocal talents with a little backing from Derek. Their two voices usually blend well, and in this combination Danielle takes 90% of the sound, giving Derek 10% to leave his haunting signature voice in the background. Derek’s work on the electric, mixed with the acoustic and bass, really stands out as we get closer to the climax of the song too!
Walk With Me is CC’s paraphrase of Psalm 23 which focuses on how God, our Shepherd walks with us in our lives. This song is simply a request that He would walk with us, through the times when things seem so empty or when times are good and strong. Ultimately, God is our healing balm, our precious jewel, we just desire for Him to be with us and never forsake us.
It is like a balm, it is like jewel
It unravels all I thought I knew
Hands Of The Potter - We now arrive to the song which inspired the title of this album. Though the words “Back Home” are not part of the title, they are part of the chorus line in this song. This is not unique for Caedmon’s Call as they did the same thing with their Long Line Of Leavers album.
Hands Of The Potter continues with this weird oriental, middle eastern style of music as we hear percussion instruments and shakers open up the song. The acoustic and electric are held in the background and placing a heavy emphasis on the percussions. The beat is reminiscent of oriental, Indian styled dance music. Of course what do I know?
Hands Of the Potter deals with three main stories all blended into one. We have the story of how clay can become harden by the hot sun. Another is the climax point of the prodigal song story, and finally we have the story of how water was transformed into wine. All these stories combine speak about what it means to be restored back unto God. With the clay, it is to allow His Living Water to soften the clay again. For the prodigal son, it’s just time to come home and run into his arms. Finally, with the water, to allow ourselves to be transformed by his hand into something that is beautiful and brings much joy.
Let it be, let it be, a song so sweet
The Emptiest Day - Finally, we have arrived to a solo Derek song! From the tickling electric guitar workmanship, to the steady strumming bass, and of course, Derek’s superb vocal exercises have made this a definite favorite of mine! Even though I could never sing this song without going into a range that only dogs could hear, that’s all right!
The Emptiest Day is simply just so Derek! It has every ear mark that would tell you that this has to be sung by Derek because of it’s clever use of imagery and meanings. The song deals with longing for a well that won’t dry, a place where one would always find strength and power to carry onto each day. We all need something that provides the fuel that keeps us going each day, and here Derek is simply confessing that he’s lost his optimism from youth, but he hasn’t lost the desire for that never ending source of strength.
And I am looking for the well that won't run dry
The rest that weary thoughts cannot deny
When you wrap your arms around me
I can walk away or face the emptiest day
The Kingdom - We continue on with the Middle Eastern style of play in The Kingdom. From the percussions, string instruments, and rhythm beats, this song really gives off a “Laurence of Arabia feel. Cliff takes the lead in this song as he sings with a very nostalgic glaze feel to his voice. Overall, it took a couple of listens to do this song to appreciate the work they put into it. This is very non-folksy, this is actually a very non-American feel, so I must give a hand to CC for putting the effort into this song.
The Kingdom is the story of a man who intended to go back to his real kingdom, his home. However, along the way he got too tired from the journey that he decided to build a kingdom of his own in the middle of the desert. Unfortunately as the song progresses, the man just watches helplessly as his kingdom crumbles upon the desert sand. Whether it was from sand storms, the weak foundation because of sand, or because of an angelic army, his kingdom doesn’t last. It is from that experience that he realizes that he must go to his home and there find his security.
I’m watching my kingdom crumble and fall
You’re building Your kingdom over all
I’m cursing my wisdom while the angels I call
To take me away, take me away from here
Beautiful Mystery - After our taste of some good old curry from The Kingdom, we return to a style that is more like Caedmon’s Call. With the use of the acoustic, with some slight touches of the electric, and regular use of the drums and bass, we are treated to a song that is best described as a tapestry of emotions and thoughts.
Beautiful Mystery is a song that declares that God, no matter how many times we may try to boil Him down, figure Him out, or come up with some theory that would take Him out of the picture, He is still here and He is a very beautiful mystery. Those of us who have known Him for many years, still cannot say that we totally understand Him. Even still, that’s the awesome thing about Him! He is so deep and amazing that the strong can dive into Him and always find new things about Him. However, he is also so comforting and kind that the weak and broken can walk across Him without fear of drowning.
Kudos also must go to Cliff, Danielle, and Derek for their superb vocal work. Even though Cliff is the main vocalist, Danielle and Derek did a great job when they sung the bridge. For that portion, it was 90% Derek and 10% Danielle, a perfect combo for the meaning of the song!
The truth is a river where the strong can swim down deep
The weak and the broken can walk across so easily
The High Countries - We now arrive along our journey the most haunting song I’ve ever listened from Caedmon’s Call. This song was written by Derek’s wife, Sandra McCracken, and sung beautifully by Danielle. With the touches of vocal reverb to Danielle’s voice, the slow strumming of the bass, consistent shaker, and the scary and distant vocal work by Derek, has made this song absolutely stand out to me. I personally cannot stop from being so emotionally affected by this song every time I’ve listened. The song, if it wasn’t so much about our relationship with God, I don’t know if I could sleep well!
The High Countries was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce and his other works. This song, as many other songs done by the band, deal with the tension that exists within the human soul when it comes to laying itself before a Holy and Loving God. There is always the element of distrust, fear, and unbelief. Will the person try to run away for all his life, or will he fall to pieces before this God? What would happen if the rebellious person finds himself in the High Countries where God is, would he bow or will he resist?
This song just screams out for the listener’s attention and the imagery presented here has just been doing cartwheels in my mind. I still haven’t figured out everything! Maybe reading the book will help, but just the thoughts presented here I’m sure will stay with me for a while to come.
And the weight of glory, if you held it in your hand
It would pass right through you, so now’s your chance…
You drink the cup to the bottom, but it burns in your hands
The cup was poured out on the Maker instead
Thousand Miles - After the eerie and haunting voices of The High Countries dissipate, we return back to the Caedmon’s Call style of play. We even get a bit of the country organ in this song! With the beating tambourine, acoustic, drums, bass, we are treated to a semi-fast tempo song with Cliff taking the lead here.
Honestly, this is a good follow-up to The High Countries as it presents the hope that every believer has when it comes down to walking with Christ. It is an active pursuit of Him, but He is there besides us along the way. No matter how long the journey, the pursuer will not give up until he has completed his journey.
So take my broken offering and make me whole
And set my feet upon the road that leads me home
Never Gonna Let Go - We pick up the pace and beat as we arrive to Never Gonna Let Go. With Cliff taking the lead again, I found myself bopping my head and dancing a bit. The tempo is set at a great pace and the beats of the drums and acoustic very excellent. There is also just enough silliness added to the song that makes it fun to listen to and it instills a sense of determination and joy for the listener.
Never Gonna Let Go is sung from Jesus’ perspective of us. He’s seen our struggles, our foul ups, and just the problems that arise in our lives. He knows about them, but He still has us covered. He just wants to remind us that He won’t let go of us. He knows what He’s doing and He won’t forsake us because of His love for us.
You are my beloved child
Forever in my heart
After the fall and after it all
You’re safe within my arms
Awake My Soul - We now come to the last song that Derek takes the lead in singing. With Awake My Soul, the band takes a very folksy and country spin, adding a good measure of the country organ here. With the tempo set pretty fast, the feel that the band drank 4 cups of hot java is totally here and leaves us listeners wanting to clap along with the band. Personally, this must be a pretty fun song to perform live with people singing along.
Awake My Soul declares that no one is worthy of a person’s attention or devotion except the one who created the person. Thus, this song, like many of the past hymns of the church, is solely Christ focused. It speaks about who He is, why He is that amazing, and a declaration that He alone can awaken the soul of a sleeper who needs to know life.
As one can guess, Awake My Soul was inspired by many readings of church hymnals. Sandra McCracken again wrote this song, and demonstrates her very special gift of writing out what could be considered modern hymns for the church to sing these days. This song, as described by McCracken, “is a blend of old-style hymn lyrics with a modern folk melody. It reads like a Psalm, pleading with the soul to boast only Christ.”
When my body is healed, and the glory revealed
Still I can boast only Christ
Manner And Means - We now arrive to one of the band’s more mellow songs. Danielle takes the lead soloist here, and as her last song on this album, she does a wonderful job of communicating the tiredness and longing that is described in this song. The tambourine and the bass take the lead in this song with the electric being held in tension as backup. The scary thing about Danielle’s singing is it’s reminding me of one of Dido’s songs. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s really close to one of those songs.
Manners and Means deals bluntly with the human’s heart need for continual renewal and freshness added it to it. It can grow so tired and run out of its fuel. Who will be there to refuel it? Who will be there to revive it? Would it settle for the truth or the lie? These are a few of the questions that are mentioned in this song, and it leaves the listener wondering, who can truly satisfy the longings of the human heart.
The heart is a costly thing to sell in the prime of the years
My heart is thinly veiled in the usual fears
The heart is the dream, and the kiss
That there could be more than this
Mystery Of Mercy - With an emphasis on strings in this song, Caedmon’s Call did a song style that I didn’t expect…Michael W. Smith style! After a few listeners, I could so see MWS performing this song on one of his non-worship albums. So it was kinda strange to hear this with CC.
Mystery Of Mercy is another hymnal style song. It deals with how can our God accept us when we so still mess up our lives. Even those of us who have placed our trust in Christ, it’s a mystery as to how could God still be so forgiving. The only thing that one can do is to cling onto Christ and never proclaim anything else except that He is my God.
I am the woman at the well, I am the harlot
I am the scattered seed that fell along the path
I am the son that ran away
And I am the bitter son that stayed
Concluding Thoughts
To be honest, I thought I was gonna rate this album only 4 stars. However, experience has taught me that Caedmon’s Call has usually taken a couple of listens in order for it to really affect me. I think one of the reasons why this band has become one of my favorites is for the very reason that their lyrics are thought provoking. I’ve realized that a lot of my life experiences can be related to their songs, and I’ve sung a few that were very applicable to me at the moment.
Though I am saddened that Derek has left the band and wished that he had more influences to exert his wacky and nutty song play, I still have to say that he did a wonderful job in supporting the band, whether in the studio or now outside of it. Caedmon’s Call strengths have always included the fact that they welcome change and are willing to meet the challenges up on ahead.
Back Home is an album that I would definitely recommend to any college student and for anyone who enjoys music that has a couple of folds in the meanings. The band has not lost their edge at all and is showing a growth in songsmanship and musical talent. Though I know many will truly miss what the band had sounded like back in their early days, I believe Caedmon’s Call are just continuing on their journey as great musicians, song writers, and ultimately Christ lovers. They haven’t lost touch with that core and I certainly hope Back Home will be just another stepping-stone for this wonderful group of talented musicians.
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