Caedmon's Call In The Company Of Angels: A Call To Worship CD

Caedmon's Call: Derek Webb (vocals, acoustic & electric guitar); Cliff Young (vocals, acoustic guitar); Danielle Young (vocals); Joshua Moore (acoustic & electric guitars, accordion, piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond B-3 organ, bells, programming, background vocals); Jeff Miller (bass, background vocals); Todd Bragg (didgeridoo, drums, percussion); Garett Buell (drums, tympani, percussion, programming).
Producers: Joshua Moore, Bob Boyd, Caedomon's Call.
Recorded live at Texas A&M University on March 25, 2001; Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas on March 18, 2001; Sunrise Studios and Second Studios, Houston, Texas.
Personnel: Derek Webb (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Cliff Young (vocals, acoustic guitar); Danielle Young (vocals); Ed Cash (guitar, banjo, mandolin, background vocals); Kemper Crabb (mandolin); Nashville String Machine (strings); Sam Levine (pennywhistle); Todd Bragg (didjeridu, drums, percussion); Garett Buell (drums, timpani, percussion, drum programming).
Audio Mixers: Bob Boyd ; Ben Wisch.
Recording information: Second Studios, Houston, TX; Sunrise Studios, Houston, TX.
Arranger: Ed Cash.
"We are learning that worship is more than playing music or singing a chorus over and over....It ultimately comes down to understanding who God is, praising Him for being who He is, and giving Him the glory," says Caedmon's Call drummer Todd Braggs. It is from this heart of worship that the band's September 2001, all-worship release In the Company of Angels: A Call to Worship stems. Birthed out of the worship and community of Caedmon's Call's home church service, the album contains 12 praise and worship songs, each flavored with acoustic folk and verging on the style of contemporary hymns. For members Cliff Young, Danielle Young, Derek Webb, Jeff Miller, Josh Moore, Garrett Buell, Todd Bragg, and Aaron Tate, In the Company of Angels marks a new, collaborative songwriting effort. While past releases have featured tracks penned predominately by Tate and Webb, this project includes songs by Moore, Young's brother-in-law Aaron Senseman, and by the band's mentor Kemper Crabb. Tracks include "Before There Was Time," "God Who Saves," and a live recording of "God of Wonders," a song originally appearing on City on a Hill. ~ Ashleigh Kittle
The Christian rock conglomerate's fifth release is more of a collaborative effort than previous, though the subject matter is, of course, the same. Worship of the Almighty is paramount in the band's oeuvre--the art is in finding enough different ways to say it. In this respect, IN THE COMPANY OF ANGELS comes up successful. The anthemic "Before There Was Time," with its infectious melody, combines religious fervor with pop sensibility in the band's signature style, while "God Of Wonders" features a live-sounding congregational chorus, giving a hint of the atmosphere of a full-on worship ceremony.
Elsewhere, with the downbeat "Laden with Guilt," Caedmon's Call explores territory familiar to Catholics (and Jews) everywhere, while "The Danse" is by turns humble and majestic. The band's overriding worship approach recalls a scene in the '60s comedy film "Bedazzled," where the Devil, played by Peter Cook, tries to explain the Fall to the confused mortal Dudley Moore by getting him to dance around a mailbox praising the Almighty. After some time singing God's praises, Moore falters. "I'm getting a bit bored with this--can't we change places?" "That's exactly what I said," deadpans Lucifer.