Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Rogue

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
New Album Review: Derek Webb’s “I Was Wrong, I’m Sorry & I Love You”

New Album Review: Derek Webb’s “I Was Wrong, I’m Sorry & I Love You”

Last updated on: January 10, 2017 at 3:23 pm by Alan Atchison

New Album Review: Derek Webb’s “I Was Wrong, I’m Sorry & I Love You” 2017-01-10T15:23:49-06:00 Alan Atchison

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Exactly ten years ago, singer/songwriter Derek Webb looked at the state of the Church and declared that “she must and shall go free.” This year, he’s telling us all that he was wrong, he’s sorry, and he loves us.

But contradicting himself, he is not.

In the decade since his departure from Caedmon’s Call, Webb has released eight solo studio albums. However you want to slice it, that’s a lot of music in a short amount of time. It also means Webb has had a lot to share with us as he’s matured and grown as follower of Jesus, a husband, a father, an observer, a consumer, and an Earthling just trying to process and figure stuff out. During that time, he’s crafted songs about the Church, modern day Pharisees, sexuality, race, social justice, and those who’d never think of setting foot in a place of worship. Never one to be confined to one musical style, his albums have ranged from folk and bluegrass to pop-rock to electronica to soft acoustic.

“It’s been twenty years since I rose and cleared my throat,” Webb sings in the opening line of the new album, a nod to his two decades in the professional music scene. “And over all these years, just three things I’ve tried to say,” he pleads before belting into the title track’s confessional.

“I am the man from which I am running, so even if I wanted to, I can’t escape,” Webb soon thereafter blares out in the hooky, up tempo “Eye of the Hurricane,” a song he describes as the most personal song he’s ever written.

I Was Wrong, I’m Sorry & I Love You is a shedding of layers; a strip-down to the essence of what Webb has been trying to get at since he first picked up a guitar or sang a note. Webb describes the album as “a reckoning with the guy I am as opposed to the guy I wished to be at different seasons of my career.” Most tracks fittingly include little more than a guitar and some light percussion or piano thrown into the mix. As an added bonus, a few even include background vocals by Sandra McCracken, Webb’s wife and an accomplished singer/songwriter in her own right.

McCracken’s contributions to the new album can be heard most clearly on “I Measure the Days,” an Anglican chant inspired by the style of worship at their church. “I think life is liturgical in many ways,” Webb says. “My very first week at my church, when we chanted one of the Psalms in that way, I was just so drawn to it. And then Sandra wrote this poetry that we sang to that melody. It’s a beautiful piece of music.”

A delicate string arrangement accompanies Webb’s acoustic guitar work in “Everything Will Change” like two lovers entwined in a tender melodic dance. The lyrics, which could easily be considered a follow up to those of “This Too Shall Be Made Right” from 2007’s The Ringing Bell, remind us that “one day you’ll wake and the curse will break and even you won’t be the same.”

Speaking of follow ups, I Was Wrong contains the third song Webb’s written over the past decade titled “Lover.” Part one, off his first album, describes the attributes of Jesus. Part two, he claims, was “very abstract and mysterious, heavier on the poetic side.” It wasn’t until the third installment about the Father that Webb says he noticed “the heavy connection of ‘Lover, part two’ to the Spirit” and realized for the first time that each song represented a different member of the Trinity.

Throughout his career, Webb has shown a unique lyrical penchant for asking tough questions, issuing harsh challenges to the Church, and at times, using taboo language to illustrate his points. In “Wedding Dress,” a song from 2003’s She Must and Shall Go Free, Webb refers to himself as a “whore,” a word the Bible itself uses dozens of times to describe the rebellious and adulterous nature of the Church. “What Matters More,” from 2009’s Stockholm Syndrome, generated so much controversy over Webb’s use of the word “shit” that many retailers of Christian-based products refused to carry the album.

Given the controversial nature of some of his past work, Webb also sees I Was Wrong as an opportunity to reconnect with those he may have unintentionally alienated or offended over the years. “I would hope people would see what I’m ever saying over the last ten years as building upon the story we’ve written together in these songs,” he says. “But I felt it was time to restate some things just so we’re resonating with one another. This record is me thinking about the questions I was asking that led to my first record.”

Webb, who openly disavows placing his music into any finite consumer category, states that “the word ‘Christian,’ when applied to anything other than a person, is a marketing term.” His honest and refreshing tell-it-like-it-is approach to songwriting sets him apart, allowing, and I daresay, freeing him up to instead simply function as a “musician who happens to be a Christian,” rather than a generic “Christian musician,” a title slapped like an assembly line factory tag on so many of his contemporaries.

Webb is also the co-founder of NoiseTrade, an online platform where artists can share their music through embeddable widgets in order to gain new listeners and build a community of fans. Listeners can share the widgets of their favorite artists via social media and don’t have to pay a penny (though online donations to the artists are gladly accepted).

I Was Wrong, I’m Sorry & I Love You will be released on September 3rd. Pre-orders and music videos from the new album are now available at DerekWebb.com. The aptly-named “Apology Tour” kicks off on September 26th in Philadelphia, PA.

Alan Atchison is a Contributing Writer to The Rogue. He is a Senior Publications Editor at the Center for the Advanced Study of India (University of Pennsylvania), where he also earned a Masters of Liberal Arts in Creative Writing. He lives in Philadelphia, PA with his wife and two daughters. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

I Was Wrong I'm Sorry & I Love You

music

NoiseTrade

Sandra McCracken

Previous Post

August 21, 2013

Stranger....New J.J. Abrams trailer is scary awesome...

Next Post

August 22, 2013 The Adventures of Kirk Cameron, Evangelical Rebel, Part One...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Alien Life ASMR Book Reviews Careers in Writing and Filmmaking Catholic Imagination Christmas miracles DC Trinity War Articles Ebola Faith Family Entertainment Fangirl Raves Filmmaking Geek Books Geek Comics Geek Culture Geek Entertainment Geek Gaming Geek Girl Geek Goes Catholic Geek Goes Catholic Geek Literature Geek Movies Geek Music Geek Sports Geek Tech Geek TV Ghost Bear Ramblings God's Not Dead Coverage Grace Unplugged Coverage Ham on Nye Coverage (Yeah, we went there) HWA Stuff Indie Artists Interviews Jonathan Ryan Book News Kardashians Lord of the Rings Mark Driscoll Movie Reviews Parenthood Pixie Perfect Salt Lake City Comic Con 2014 Social Issues Teen Author Boot Camp The Conjuring Coverage The Michigan Dog Man Adventures Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

David Solomon Moses Paul