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Release Date: August 28, 2007 Label: INO Records Related Sites: ·Official Site ·Fan Site
Grade: B+
Caedmon's Call reunites with Derek Webb as they simultaneously sign with INO Records (who also represent MercyMe, Todd Agnew and others) for their latest release, Overdressed. The title "...comes from lyrics in the song 'Trouble,'" says Webb. "It talks about how, if I'm honest, all my best attempts at being good are a real mess. Just like the Garden of Eden, I try to cover myself with so many different things. So, when I'm with Him, I feel so overdressed."
One thing that's definitely not overdressed is the album's sound, which retains an acoustic, jam-session feel rather than a slick studio-mixed production. The music is folksy both in sound and sensibilities, and one almost imagines there's a campfire blazing and the group is encircled about it as they sing most of the tunes.
Dressed for Success. (L-R): Andrew Osenga (vocals / guitar),
Garett Buell (percussion), Joshua Moore (piano), Cliff Young
(vocals / guitar), Danielle Young (vocals), Todd Bragg (drums),
Derek Webb (vocals / guitar), and Jeff Miller (bass).
It takes a bit to get to that feeling, though, because the first couple of tracks do have a traditional closed-set sound. The first track, "Trouble," includes the sounds of electric piano and organ, written and sung by Webb, which choruses that "the trouble is I’m not above or beyond anything / so I know you must be good for me." Following that is "I Need Your Love," written by Andrew Osenga and sung by Cliff Young, which has an almost psalm-like quality despite the multitude of modern instruments.
"Sacred," with lead vocals by Danielle Young, has a pop-country sound to it that would make it a natural market crossover song. Country fans can well relate to the words, which open with the acceptance of everyday problems and the blessings which are so common as to sometimes go unnoticed and unappreciated: "This house is a good mess / It’s the proof of life / No way would I trade jobs, but it don’t pay overtime. / I’ll get to the laundry / I don’t know when / I’m saying a prayer tonight, 'cause tomorrow it starts again."
That boy had the highest of expectations
And he heard that Jesus would fill him up
Maybe something got lost in the language
If this was full, then why bother?
This was not the way it looked on the billboard,
Smiling family beaming down on the interstate...
-- "Expectations"
With "Expectations," we really start to get into the folk sound Caedmon's Call is more noted for. It's a song of dissatisfaction of church-goers who discover their needs aren't being addressed by the brick-and-mortar entity and organization, done in a lilting melodic style by Andrew Osenga.
Of course, you can't get more grassroots folk than with the sentiments at the core of "There is a Reason," with a chorus that echoes the same verses of Ecclesiastes that The Birds picked up and ran with. Cliff Young returns to the mike on this up-tempo number that offers comfort to the listener that, through all the bad things we can't understand, "He makes all things good / There’s a time to live and a time to die / A time for wonder and to wonder why / 'cause there is a reason."
Don’t blame the writer for the doubts in your head
Don’t blame the preacher for the lovers in your bed
When you find out that the world is round,
everything is rearranged
You gotta hold up the mirror, and share in the blame
-- "Share in the Blame"
Derek and Danielle join forces on the Dylanesque "Share in the Blame." Written by Webb's wife, Sandra McCracken, it's the musical equivalent of the adage, "Don't shoot the messenger," as much as it is an admonishment to own up to our own part played in the problems of the world. Webb and Young do some very nice harmonizing on this one and only duet of the album.
Johannesburg to Houston
She came home on a mountain
But school was starting, things kept moving on
Before you knew it, seven years had gone
She found a picture of her
Standing, smiling
Arms around the starving kids
She swore to not forget
She swore to not forget
-- "Two Weeks in Africa"
Perhaps my favorite piece of the whole set is Cliff Young's delivery of "Two Weeks in Africa." It's a story song with a distinctive Paul Simon vibe, relating the tale of a young girl's brief mission trip to Africa and the impact it had on her -- an impact that was, incredibly, short lived as life continued to get in her way upon her return home. It's nonetheless a hopeful song, addressing that "we all can feel the calling / to make the world a little smaller" and do something about poverty and famine in the world.
Caedmon's Call "Overdressed" Track Listing
01. Trouble
02. Need Your Love
03. Sacred
04. Expectations
05. There is a Reason
06. Share in the Blame
07. Hold the Light
08. Two Weeks in Africa
09. Love Grows Love
10. All Across the Western World
11. Always Been There
12. Start Again
13. Love
14. Ten Thousand Angels
The song is more than just words for Caedmon's Call. They may not be overdressed, but they certainly risk becoming overextended, having partnered with Compassion International, the Dalit Freedom Network, and the band's own organization, Share the Well Foundation, established, in Cliff Young's words, to "change the church culture and what it means to be a believer, from sitting in the safety of a pew to impacting a hurting world."
With over a dozen years in the Christian Music Industry, Caedmon’s Call has grown from being an independent act to a Christian music mainstay. In 1997, the group’s self-titled debut set a record, selling more units in its first week than any other new contemporary Christian music artist. Overdressed is the latest in a line of national releases that include 40 Acres, Long Line of Leavers, In the Company of Angels, Back Home, In the Company of Angels II: The World Will Sing, Chronicles, and Share The Well. During their career they have garnered Dove's Album of the Year Award and a nomination for a Music Video Award from Billboard. They are one of the original contributors to City on a Hill and have earned two Special Event Dove Awards for their work with that series.
