David Crowder Band - Remedy

I was a little late in getting this CD, since it came out when I was on vacation. I purchased it last week, and I've been listening to it non-stop. Even though it's a lot shorter than the last Crowder full-length album, I think it's definitely more congregational singing friendly. I can see us using several of the songs. Let me go through each one and give my rating for each.

1. The Glory Of It All (10 out of 10 goatees): Right now this is my favorite song on the CD. They had this on the Passion '07 iTunes bundles that you could buy, but I never purchased the bundles. The first time I heard this song was at the Willow Creek Conference, and I liked it, but for some reason it didn't click until I bought the CD. Musically, it's impressive. I love songs that start out sounding "minor-ish" chord-wise and then in the chorus goes to major chords. It's like it resolves or something. I'm not sure that makes sense, but oh well. The lyrics are great:

At the start, He was there, He was there
At the end, He'll be there, He'll be there
After all our hands have wrought, He forgives

Oh the glory of it all is He came here
For the rescue of us all that we may live
For the glory of it all, oh the glory of it all

2. Can You Feel It? (6 out of 10 goatees): I think that on this CD, the slower songs are better than the faster ones, in my opinion.
This song is pretty good. Definitely not my favorite, but I like the theme of the song.

3. Everything Glorious (8 out of 10 goatees): We've been doing this song for some time now, thanks to Jeff. When I first heard it off of the '06 Passion CD, I wasn't really that impressed, but I really like it now. It goes right along with the theme of this CD (that God takes whatever is happening in our lives and uses it for his glory, and he's commissioned us to help be the remedy for the brokenness in people's lives), it's catchy, and it's a fun song to play.

4. Neverending (7 out of 10 goatees): This song reminds me a lot of Foreverandever, etc. off of A Collision. It's fast, catchy, and my favorite of the fast songs on Remedy. Plus the background synth reminds me of playing my Nintendo GameBoy back in the day. This song also continues the Crowder tradition of having at least one song on each CD with a "la la la" part on it.

5. Never Let Go (10 out of 10 goatees): My second favorite song. It's piano-based, which makes me want to learn how to play the piano just for this song. This is my daughter's favorite song on the CD (she's four years old), and yesterday on our way to Chipotle, she wanted me to keep playing this song so she could sing along with the chorus, which simply states "You never let go..." This song reminds me of a lot of the Psalms, where the Psalmist would pour out his heart to God, stating all the problems in their lives, but then in the despair, would begin singing of God's redemption and faithfulness.

6. O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing (7 out of 10 goatees): This song also continues the Crowder tradition of redoing an old hymn. It's a little too fast to sing, but I like the new chorus that they added. And the music makes me want to break into an Irish jig, or perhaps a couple of the Lord of the Dance moves (although I can't do that anymore, because I did that for my daughter one time and ended up in the emergency room, no joke).

7. Rain Down (7 out of 10 goatees): This song was originally on Crowder's first release, called "All I Can Say", so it's a sentimental favorite. I think I understand why it was included on this CD (it ties into the theme), but I still wish there were a couple more new songs added onto this CD. This song is another good example of the minor/major chord progression.

8. We Won't Be Quiet (5 out of 10 goatees): This is my least favorite song on the CD. I think it's cool that they got Ted Nugent to play guitar on this track, but they should have turned him up. The song is way too short, and to me it's in the vein of possibly my least favorite worship song on the planet - that would be "Party" by Chris Tomlin.

9. Remedy (9 out of 10 goatees): I really like this song, and I like the message of it. I like how they proclaim Jesus as the remedy, but then ask God for us to be the remedy as well. It reminds me of the Hillsong United song "Solution", and the song "Mission's Flame" by Matt Redman. The idea that worship should fuel us to be God's hands and feet is a theme that needs to be explored more in our worship.

He is the one who has saved us
He is the one who embraced us
He is the one who has come and is coming again
He's the remedy

Let us be the remedy
Let us bring the remedy

10. Surely We Can Change (10 out of 10 goatees): This song musically reminds me of one of my favorite Crowder songs - Stars, off of Illuminate. It's a great way to close this CD. I really like the subtle changes with the chorus from the first time he sings it to the last time. It goes from:

Where there is pain let there be grace
Where there is suffering bring serenity
For those afraid help them be brave
Where there is misery bring expectancy
And surely we can change, surely we can change something

to

Where there is pain let us bring grace
Where there is suffering bring serenity
For those afraid let us be brave
Where there is misery let us bring them relief
And surely we can change oh surely we can change something


As I've been considering this CD, I really think it's my favorite Crowder CD. I like them all for different reasons, but this one is the most consistent, most accessible, and most hopeful. It is also a healing balm for me where I'm at in my life right now as well.