Caedmon’s Call Raising up the Dead – initial thoughts

Caedmon’s Call is back with a brand new album — Raising Up the Dead.

Derek Webb rejoins his “family” for this release and his influence is evident beyond just the production — with his writing and vocals taking part throughout the album as well.

Officially the album releases Sept. 14, 2010, but you can purchase a pre-release digital version of the album on their website today.

Musically this is a beautiful album — perhaps my favorite from Caedmon’s. You can hear the original sound that drew me to Caedmon’s Call in the first place, with an obvious maturity that comes with age and varied experiences.

Since the band first came together circa 1992, they added Joshua Moore (who I understand is doing a lot of hip-hop/R&B producing in the Houston area), and Derek Webb has left and returned having released a number of solo records in the process, including his latest, Stockholm Syndrome which featured a lot of Moore’s input.

Derek Webb writes that he feels this is the band’s first real project together as a band…

let me start by saying that i love this record. the band honored me with their trust in letting me produce it, and i believe it to be among the band’s best records (if not their best). and the reason is because i consider this the first real caedmon’s call record. this is the first time you’re hearing songs and stories not just from one or two members of the band speaking on all of their behalf, but from nearly every member of the band. danielle young (singer) single handedly wrote half of the record. todd bragg (drummer) wrote a song, cliff young (singer/guitar player) wrote a few songs, jeff miller (bass player) wrote a few songs, and sandra mccracken and i wrote some as well. but the point is that none of these folks had written songs for caedmon’s before. on raising up the dead (and maybe for the first time on record) you’re getting a real sense of who this band is.

secondly, i love this record because it’s completely unfettered with outside consideration and influence about radio/retail/etc. the band’s focus here was to make the best record possible, wanting to primarily impress the fans who have supported them for these almost two decades. the band has admittedly made well-intentioned creative mistakes over the years, caring more about these various means of promotion more than the fans that it ultimately hoped those things would connect them to.

but those days are over. this is a band reborn, with a new creative energy and sense of camaraderie that i haven’t seen since the days of 40 acres, but without the trappings of the arrogance and short-sightedness of youth. it’s a rare and special thing for a band to come back around to such a moment after making music together for so long. and raising up the dead is the documentation of this moment.

In many ways the album also reminds me of a cross between Caedmon’s Call and a recent album from another band with Houston roots, Arcade Fire.

I also love that the band is currently distributing the album digitally via their website. Only 1000 physical copies of the album will be produced for those who purchase the “top-tier package.”

Derek shares:

raising up the dead is a digital only release (while it may eventually release via itunes and other digital distributers, there are no plans to release it as a physical product) should not be taken as a sign of anything to do with the band’s future…

everything from the making to the distributing of this record was done with the band’s community of fans in mind. caedmon’s call has always done its best work when we’re thinking like an indie band (we were an indie band for many years before signing to our first record label), and one doesn’t have to look hard to see the strange condition the music industry is currently in. INO records (the band’s record label, and mine as well) has been so supportive to allow the luxury for both caedmon’s and me as a solo artist to live and operate like indie artists.

So with all that in mind, here are my initial thoughts on listening to the album for the first time…

Sometimes A Beggar – The song starts the album off with the solid acoustic guitar sound of Caedmon’s Call I’ve always loved and the bells, strings, organ and horns towards the end are beautiful. The song brings to mind the conflict between the “wisdom of men” and the “wisdom of angels.” Reminds me somewhat of The Welcome Wagon, although it might be hard to say who would have the greater influence on the other.

Take the time / Think it through / 30 coins can bury you… Walk in wise / leave a fool / Sometimes a beggar has more to say

She – A stronger upbeat track that’s reminiscent of 40 Acres with Danielle Young’s beautiful vocals right in the forefront. You can hear Webb’s and Joshua Moore’s recent musical interest in electronic influences in the background as well. Lyrically this is a really interesting track. I want to return to it to for sure to delve into the lyrics later on and try and decipher exactly who “She” is.

She’s got it all together / And she has no alibi / She’s lighter than a feather / And she never tells a lie / She gives it up so easily in love / She’s got it all together… Whether you love / Or whether you hate / You’ll have to deal with her / She’ll ruin your life / She’ll stay by your side / So she can poor the drink / She knows who you are / But she’ll argue your case / If you confess to her / And wear her dress tonight

Family – Derek Webb takes on the vocals of this track. I love the dance drum beat/sample that kick the track off – reminiscent of Webb’s last album Stockholm Syndrome. The song tells the story of a man living with the struggles of being unaccepted by those closest to him and perhaps finding real family elsewhere. Thinking about Derek’s post about the album, and his feeling about the band as a family, I wonder how much of that went into these lyrics as well.

and caedmon’s call, as it turns out, is very much like hotel california: you can check out anytime you’d like, but you can never really leave. several of us have tried to leave over the years but we seem to keep coming back. why is that? i have a few theories. mainly though, it’s because they’re my family. i jumped right out of high school into this band and spent more than twice what would have been my college experience traveling all over the country with them, very literally living out some of our wildest dreams. these individuals have been formative to me in my life, and there’s a version of myself that i only am when i am with them. so we keep finding excuses to make things together. and that’s what happened in the case of raising up the dead.

His own people didn’t know him / They couldn’t take the bad with the good / There’s just so much he couldn’t show them / That left him sneaking around the neighborhood / He just wanted to be known and loved / But sometimes flesh and blood aren’t enough

Miss You – Danielle Young’s vocals shine through again on another beautiful track, which on the surface is about a woman struggling to decide between two lovers. I’m sure there’s something a little deeper going on as well… but I’ll wait till I hear it again to make a judgment call on that.

God’s Hometown – An interesting track. The organ, accordion and rhythm reminds me of a carnival or circus — perhaps the intent as the song focuses on “God’s Hometown.” The song also brings back the imagery of a wedding gown, an element we’ve seen in Webb’s lyrics in the past. On first listen I wonder if the lyrics are a continuation of the story painted in Miss You.

Living in God’s hometown / Standing here in my wedding gown / Living in God’s hometown… Both of them guilty of the same crime / Only believing it would save them

Come With Me – A beautiful song musically, but it didn’t strike me with anything too unique on the first listen.

My hands are bound / And my heart is tied / Enslave me, you’ll save me

Streets of Gold – An upbeat song looking at hope for tomorrow. Reflecting on the valley’s of today with the hope of a better tomorrow.

It’s easy to fall down hard / It’s easy to fall / But I know walking tomorrow / Paved on streets of gold.. Well they say not to worry about tomorrow / Does that mean I should live for today? / Because right now I can’t find a peace of mind to stay…

Time Inside Out – Another beautiful track with a beautiful vocal blend between Danielle Young and Sandra McCracken and perhaps Cliff Young on the chorus.

I Need a Builder – Wonderful strings at the beginning. Lyrically, this song beyond any other reminds me of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. The song tells the story of a man looking to move beyond the stories and dreams he knew from growing up — perhaps in response to The Family.

We’re leaving behind all that our parents wrote / We’re replacing the past and all of others’ hopes / With a new street address / And a new bag of tools / To make room as we grow from here… We need a builder of better design / A house with more windows and more ways inside

David Waits – Right off the bat the track reminds me of Heaven. A beautiful story of brokenness and an artist crafting a work of art. How much sovereignty does the artist hold over his creation?

Though the knife and chisel break you / There will be a work of art / And you are throwing yourself at the stone / Cause you see the shape and the form of his face / What your hands cannot break / And David waits… On the other side of brokenness / The way your heart connects to his / Both must be free for the beauty to be revealed

Raising Up the Dead – The title track from the album and placed as the second to last track on the album. I really dig this track musically. Lyrically it seems to express the tension of what we’ve come to idolize about God and who he really is – especially in our time of hurt and need. Is he really only about raising people from the dead at the end of life? Or raising up “the dead” today?

She is waiting for the day / When he comes to her to save / But he’s not a voice in her head / He’s raising up the dead… She drives her car into a lake / Hoping to see his face / If he’s everywhere, then why not here? / Why navigate? Why even steer?

Free – The longest track on the album, weighing in at 6:11. The song builds beautifully around Daniel Young’s vocals as the song plays on. This song gives me chills as it continues!

A rose shoots up from the ground / Sky cracks open, sun through the clouds / The old has changed / The earth, the bride, the family name / Broken down and shot through / All the good and mean to do / Prison shakes / The man goes free / I am he and he is me… FREE!

This song is the perfect climax to this album. Beautiful!

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.