As I was looking through my music to try to choose an artist/band to critique I went through many of my favorites but then I came across an artist that I rarely listen to but I’m not sure why. Maybe because I am not terribly familiar with him, but as soon as I play a song from him my body loosens and my mind clears. It isn’t that his music doesn’t have a message; far from it. He actually has a very powerful message, but the way he presents it is calm, soothing, attractive, and peaceful. His songs are bold to claim the truth but gentle in its presentation. I believe this largely has to do with the message that he is presenting: the message of Christ and his death and resurrection. But as many of us know this message can be butchered by the messenger, which we’ve seen far too many times. Webb’s music, however, is graceful.
Webb accomplishes this by only having an acoustic guitar backing up his voice. It is simple yet raw. Raw not because it is tough or harsh but because it is unprocessed. This is partly because the CD I have is a live CD. It is only him and his guitar playing music that hasn’t taken hours of several people practicing to get everyone on the same page. Not that he hasn’t practiced. I’m sure he has, but being a lone singer creates a spontaneity to the concert; almost like a group of friends that have been relaxing and enjoying one another’s company and someone just happens to pull out a guitar to play a little music. It’s genuine.
Then there is his voice. His voice lacks a lot of projection but this would create more of a forceful attitude in his music. His voice is soft and smooth but not lacking a hint of urgency signaling his passion in his message.
It is this message that I love so much. This is possibly the most impressive part of his music. His lyrics are symbolic, colorful, and fervent. “I’m a prodigal with no way home/I put you on just like a ring of gold/and I run down the isle/I run down the isle to you.” These lyrics from “Wedding Dress” are full of imagery. The language is largely picturesque. His message is a Christian message but it isn’t presented in a common way. His lyrics seem to portray Christ’s heart which in my life is always beautiful. It is the same message of the reality of sin in our lives followed by a message of grace and love that we have all heard but because the lyrics do not spare any politically incorrect words it is honest which may seem harsh but it is realistic to this artist.
With all these elements of the solo guitar, a smooth voice, and a strong message a raw, gentle, and passionate song is created. Because I am a Christian this artist is just for me. It’s is often hard to find music that expresses your heart’s cry but I can find it in Derek Webb.
Journey to the Heavenly Country 
If there is anything you have learned about me through the semester, it’s that I value honesty in music. Regardless of the subject matter. This particular artist seems to have no fear of honesty and that is such a big deal in our world. Instead of sugar-coating his message to fit the mold of Christian music, he has decided to step out of the box and let his heart show. It is obviously working for him. More musicians should follow his lead, find what it is they believe in and sing about it.
Yeah, I wanted you to know that I really, really appreciate you bringing this in the other day.
By the way, I don’t know if you did this or not, but you don’t mention his full name until the very end. I can see where you might’ve done it on purpose, but it is sort of orthodox from a reviewing perspective, and so I thought I’d point it out just in case.
A couple of years ago he made his Mockingbird album free to the public. I wonder if it still is. I’ve looked for the site and can’t find it, so I’m guessing that it isn’t, but since it was, I probably wouldn’t feel too bad about giving it to you somehow if you want it.