Derek Webb

Item: I See Things Upside Down
Author: Brian A. Smith

I See Things Upside Down

(2004)

Reviewed by Brian A. Smith

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Label INO RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2004

ccm folk rock indie rock singer-songwriter

Derek Webb is rapidly ascending to the type of songwriter that Keith Green was known as: willing to say the prophetic things that need to be addressed, things that indict the complacency of the church and its followers. With a few more albums in this manner, he will rise to a level previously held by Green and Rich Mullins.

"I Want a Broken Heart" opens the disc, addressing the need for humans to acknowledge their need for God, and pointing out the futility in trying to please ourselves: "The cattle on a thousand hills/weren't enough to pay my bills". "Better than Wine" shows Webb singing in a higher range than on previous albums, and the song itself contains a Jars of Clay vibe, almost too polished. It would fit in alongside AAA radio standards like Coldplay and U2.

The U2 connection continues in "The Strong, The Tempted, and The Weak," with a fadeout at the end reminiscent of "One." "Reputation" feels like an outtake from Webb's first project, She Can and Must Go Free. "Ballad in Plain Red" uses a muted, chant-like lower vocal from Webb, rendering it almost in a Love and Rockets range. The toy piano on this song fits it well.

"I Repent" and "T-Shirts" may be the two best songs I've heard this year. The former portrays the problem in getting caught up in self-image:

I repent of confusing peace and idolatry
Of caring more what they think
Than what I know of what You mean
Of domesticating You
Until You're just like me
Oh, I am wrong of all these things...

"T-Shirts" is scathing in its honesty, depicting Christians who outwardly portray Christ with slogans and signs, but whose lives don't measure up to their label. Done in a Beatlesque/Matthew Sweet style, it condemns facile Christianity, and points out the need for love, not words:

They'll know us by the T-shirts that we wear
And they'll know us by the way we point and stare
At anyone whose sin looks worse than ours
Who cannot hide the scars
Of this curse that we all bear.

It is impossible to listen to I See Things Upside Down without being offended, then ashamed. Webb says the things that need to be said, no matter how unpalatable they may be to seekers of "comfort" music. If you want to be challenged, or listen to music that will provoke thought and discussion, buy this immediately. Webb is a talented singer, but more importantly, he has firmly established a track record of speaking exactly what Christ has put on his heart without sugarcoating the message. Sometimes we all need the bitter pill to cure what ails us...

4.5 tocks