As you might have noticed on Suite’s 2006 List of the Year’s Best Albums, we think very highly of Derek Webb around here. He topped the list, his “Mockingbird” riding in the catbird’s #1 seat. Many of the songs on “One Zero” are actually from that same album, but these stripped down versions sound fresh enough to be completely new, imbued as they are with deep passion. I’m talking, dripping in it.
The opening “Mockingbird” sets the tone immediately: stark and straightforward, much like the artist himself. In this spare acoustic form, the song’s truths are even more piercing, at times difficult for this sorry heart to even hear. But it is soul-pain that I embrace, knowing how desperately I need this soul-cleansing fire. It is followed by a Webb song I’ve long loved for its rabid sense of the romantic, the earthy “Better Than Wine.” Its lyrics lifted straight from Song of Solomon, the deeply melodic track is rich with warmth. Only two tracks in and already I’m completely knocked out by “One Zero.”
The passion flows like a river through “A King and a Kingdom,” and only amps up higher for the song that could have been written by Screwtape himself, “Ballad in Plain Red.” Webb’s soft vocals belie the biting lyrics: “Don’t want the song/I want a jingle/I love you, Lord/ but don’t hear a single/and the truth is nearly to rhyme.” One of the things I appreciate most about Webb’s insights is the way he includes himself in his scorching assessments. His prophetic judgments aren’t cast down from the mountain-top, but from within the writhing pack of sinners barbecuing over the golden calf. So rather than putting you on the defensive, the beautiful lament of “Wedding Dress” can provoke you to examine your own heart along with Webb’s own brokenness. He openly declares, “I am that whore, I do confess… I am that prodigal with no way home.” Who can argue with that kind of humility?
Webb’s vocals quake with raw emotion as he pleads for real connection in “Medication”: “I want the real sensation/ even if living feels just like death to me.” As ever, listening to Derek Webb shakes my own faith to its roots, challenging me to sift my own heart for truth. What words are there to thank a brother for this kind of intervention?
Which is not to say it’s all goosebumps and flowers. The squirm-inducing “Rich Young Ruler” has me on the mat within seconds of hearing those first dead-on vocals: “Poverty is so hard to see/ when it’s only on your TV/ or 20 miles across town/ Where we’re all living so good/ and we’ve moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood/ where He’s hungry and not feeling so good/ from going through our trash.” Tough stuff, but it hurts so good. And it sounds good too, recorded this past September at Webb’s home studio. After 4 critically acclaimed albums, and his recent groundbreaking digital initiative, Derek Webb is still provoking us to consider what real worship looks like in 21st century America. Like I said, how do you thank a guy for a gift so vital, so urgent? Pick up “One Zero” the moment it hits the streets on January 30th, and let the soul-healing begin.
