Song by Song: Remedy is here!

Remedy, the new project from David Crowder Band, finally made it to my iTunes today after much anticipation. Overall, it lives up to expectations. It’s not A Collision, but that’s one of the great things about Crowder. While there are elements of the band’s music that can be recognizable, it isn’t predictable a la Casting Crowns (but that’s a rant for another day). Since I’m not so much a music reviewer type of person, here’s my impressions of Remedy, song by song.

The Glory of It All – Beautiful song. I’ve loved it since Passion 07. I kind of miss the live vibe of that recording, but the new studio arrangement is fun, too. Really, it’s the lyrics that catch my attention on this one. I won’t recopy them all here, but here’s one of my favorite sections:

And after all
Our hands have wrought
He forgives.

Or try these lines from the bridge:

After night
Comes a light
Dawn is here
Dawn is here
It’s a new day, a new day.

Can You Feel It? – Oh, yeah. Definitely! Multi-layered, electronica sound extravaganza. I’m thinking this is my new favorite road trip song and quite possibly my favorite of the whole CD.

Everything Glorious – Another studio version of a song you might know from the live Passion recordings. New arrangement. Again, there’s some wordplay in the lyrics that I just love. My favorite lines?

Yeah, you make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?

. . . neverending . . . - I have to be honest. Kind of fun to listen to. You might call it Remedy’s version of Foreverandever Etc. (which is on A Collision), but I’m just not so into it.

Never Let Go – Not to be confused with a similarly titled song from sixsteps labelmate, Matt Redman, the quiet confidence of a faith expressed in the darkest times is made all the more poignant by placing this piano-based track right after the relatively rowdy …neverending …

O, For A Thousand Tongues to Sing! – Crowderized version of an older hymn. I’m just happy it isn’t All Creatures of Our God and King version …whatever he’s up to now. Kidding. I like these new arrangements with added choruses and such. Sometimes just hearing them taken from the domain of the organ and piano is enough for me to catch something in the lyrics that I had not noticed previously. Haven’t found it yet here, but I’ve only had the track for a couple of hours!

Rain Down – An overlooked gem from the first project featuring Crowder, recorded under the name of their church, University Baptist Church. Updated a bit.

We Won’t Be Quiet – This is the one we’ve all been waiting for. It’s the track with the guest appearance by Ted Nugent … and you can tell. Energetic track. Another one that will make my foot hit the gas pedal a bit hard. Only drawback: worship guitarists making attempts at mimicking Nugent’s riffs.

Remedy – The centerpiece. The message of the entire project encapsulated in stunning lyrics. Can you tell I like this song?

Surely We Can Change - A benediction. A prayer for change individually and corporately as we take the remedy we have found to the world.

Read CCM’s review.

Read Christianity Today’s review.