Derek Webb The Ringing Bell INO Records Folk 05-01-2007

SCORE 93%

Referring to his fourth studio album, The Ringing Bell, Derek Webb himself will be the first to say he had “been listening to too much Beatles and too much of the great plugged-in Dylan music.” I’m not sure that there is such a thing as too much Beatles, or Dylan, for that matter, but it only influenced Webb for good. The Ringing Bell is an homage of sorts, capturing much of the ‘60s questioning/protesting energy, as well as much of its rock sensibilities. Mix those with Webb’s bright intelligence and masterful powers of articulation, and you have the insightful, provocative Ringing Bell.

There’s not a wasted measure in the whole of these ten songs, and before I get into the brilliance of the message, let me say first that Webb put together a first-rate band. You have to be pretty proficient to stand out behind lyrics as weighty as these, but Matt Pierson’s stalking bass and Ben Shive’s keys light up Webb’s very catchy melodies. And Webb’s questions and points are heard partly by virtue of the supremely listenable melodies in which they are presented. Whether it’s the raw rock of “A Savior on Capitol Hill” or the lovely poignancy of “The Very End,” Webb never fails to make good music, and “The Ringing Bell” is full of consistently strong melodies. More often than not, these melodies are as Beatle-esque as you can get without being derivative. But in his chord movements, rock beats and jangly instrumentation, he will thrill the Beatle-lovers with this project.

Ah, but that message….. The genius of Derek Webb is that he never stands outside with a pointing finger, but enters humbly into the conundrum of the human condition and wrestles alongside of us. So when he’s challenging us to examine our own hearts for where the line of truth lies on the clever rocker “A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fear,” or asking us to gauge our own propensity for violence in “I Don’t Want to Fight,” he is willing to search his own heart also, and share the dark results. Webb holds up the prism of truth, and turns it in several directions so its glint can catch our hearts and reveal the hidden shadings. And he always does it stylishly at that. The shrewd and satirical “I For An I” tweaks the WWJD phenomenon with: “I’ve got a killer instinct bringing out all my best/I’ve got a poison conscience telling me to go with that/This may not work and I don’t guarantee that it will/but I’ve got no choice unless you tell me who Jesus would kill.”  All the players are at the top of their game for this sizzling track, from the electric guitar intro, to the rough but passionate bridge, to Jason Fitz’ warm violin.

“A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fear” cuts even closer to the bone, raising searing questions about how far we’d go to save our own skin. Some of these are impossible to answer, but Webb wants his listeners to be willing to look inside anyway. This role of provocateur is exactly why Derek Webb is so valuable in our unexamined culture, though it also explains much about his relatively unknown status. It is undeserved but not mysterious.