Caedmon's Call

Item: Share the Well
Author: Burton Wray

Share the Well

(2004)

Reviewed by Burton Wray

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Label Essential RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2005

ccm folk rock world worship

Caedmon's Call is one of those rare success stories of a group that enjoyed a great deal of success as an independent group and got signed to a major label where they enjoy even more success. Things were going quite well for the group until lead singer and songwriter Derek Webb left the group to pursue a solo career. Fans of the group wondered if the creativity would still be there after he left. Unfortunately, their first release after Webb left, Back Home, was a disappointment. Fans started to wonder if the band would ever be the same. With the release of their newest album, Share the Well, fans everywhere breathed a collective sigh of relief because the creativity had returned.

The group has always had a heart for missions, traveling to places such as Bolivia, Ecuador, and Haiti. In early 2003, lead vocalist Cliff Young met with leaders from the Dalit Freedom Network, a ministry to the severely demoralized Indian population known as Dalits (which means "oppressed"). These Dalits are stripped of their most basic human rights, they are forced into extreme poverty and treated as animals. Young also heard that the 250 million Dalits in India exceed the entire population of the United States. After this meeting, Caedmon's Call started making plans for a recording project that includes sounds and stories from these oppressed people. The band traveled to India, Ecuador, and Brazil in Spring 2004 taking along portable recording equipment to capture the native music. The group also purchased native instruments to use on the recording. This gave the project a more authentic, a more native feel.

The highlights of the album include the title track, "Share the Well," "Mother India," "International Love Song," "Volcano Land," and "Bombay Rain." The authentic native feel to the CD shows in many tracks, especially the final track, "Dalit Hymn."

With Share the Well Caedmon's Call returns to the creativity that their fans have grown to expect from them. This is easily one of the most creative albums of 2004.

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