Caedmon's Call
Caedmon's Call, a Contemporary Christian band that fuses traditional folk stylings with world music and alternative rock influences, is comprised of Cliff Young (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Danielle Young (vocals; married to Cliff, formerly Danielle Glenn), Garett Buell (percussion), Jeff Miller (bass guitar), Todd Bragg (drums), Josh Moore (keys, accordion, harmonica), and Andrew Osenga (guitars, vocals).
Former members include Derek Webb (guitar, vocals; left the band in 2003 to pursue a solo career), Aaron Tate (songwriting duties), Aric Nitzberg (bass guitar), and Randy Holsapple (hammond organ).
History
Caedmon's Call was formed in 1993 with four original members (three of whom still remain), Cliff Young, Danielle Glenn, Todd Bragg, and Aaron Tate. Aaron Tate, however, never intended to tour with the band, and was included in a songwriting capacity only. Derek Webb also joined the band early on, though it is notable that he did not even meet all the band members until after they had played their first show together. In June, 1994, the band released their first album, My Calm//Your Storm, originally a casette-only demo recording. It was re-printed twice the same year with different cover art each time. In 1996 the band signed with now-defunct Christian label Warner Alliance, producing what many fans believe is the band's finest work, their self-titled release. Around this time, Randy Holsapple joined the band.
After the collapse of Warner Alliance in 1998, Caedmon's Call signed to Essential Records, where they have remained ever since (at least of 2004).
In the summer of 1999, both Aric and Randy left the band, while Josh and Jeff became official members. In 2003, after the successful release of Back Home, Derek left the band to pursue a solo career. In the spring of 2004, Andrew Osenga, former lead singer of The Normals joined the band.
It is also interesting to note that Aaron Tate and Derek Webb shared most of the songwriting duties until the album Back Home, which featured songs by a more diverse set of writers. Randall Goodgame has, in the proceeding years, become one of the band's primary songwriters.
Meaning behind the name
The band's unusual name was inspired by Caedmon, an Anglo-Saxon monk who lived during the 7th century. Legend has it that Caedmon was afraid to sing in public due to a lack of musical talent, and shied away from occasions where he had to sing. One day, he heard God calling him to sing, but Caedmon refused at first out of fear. Eventually he decided to listen to God, and when he did, he sang beautiful verses that had never been heard before. Many songwriters tried in vain to write songs as good as or better than Caedmon's, but could not because Caedmon's songs came from God. Founding band members Cliff, Danielle, and Aaron decided on the name "Caedmon's Call" after all three heard this rather obscure story during the same week and thought it was fitting.
Musical Evolution
Over the years, Caedmon's Call have enveloped and adapted many different musical stylings, the most obvious being their folk and alternative rock roots. On their first mainstream, self-titled release, the band utilized stylings that ranged from straight-up folk-rock ("Lead of Love", "Coming Home"), rock ("Not the Land"), folk ("This World", "Bus Driver"), and simple acoustic guitar ballads ("Centre Aisle"). The album itself featured a highly-produced sound with a less warm ambiance than would be found on later albums.
Their second album, 40 Acres, made after the dissolution of Warner Alliance, focused on a more settled folk-rock sound and a much warmer ambiance. Songs such as the Derek Webb-penned "Thankful", for instance, took advantage of those folk-rock stylings, relying heavily on percussion.
Long Line of Leavers, their third wide-release album, became something of a milestone for the band, including a wider range of instrumentation and stylings. "The Only One" featured a brass accompanyment, something Caedmon's Call had never before experimented with, whereas "The Ballad of San Fransisco" was perhaps the most folkish song ever included on a Caedmon's Call album (although that is debatable). "Prove Me Wrong" was a simple guitar-driven pop song, while "What You Want" stands in the tradition of "Not the Land" as upbeat rock-and-roll.
The albums In the Company of Angels: A Call to Worship and Back Home came during an interim phase in which Aaron Tate and Derek Webb were mostly inactive as writers for the band, only contributing lyrics for the song "Beautiful Mystery" on Back Home and leaving a myriad of other songwriters (including Webb's wife, independent artist Sandra McCracken) to provide material for the band. These albums, while still largely driven by the acoustic guitar, were characterized by simpler lyrics and melodies than the band's past material, and more of an adult contemporary feel that did not sit well with some longtime fans.
In 2004, Share the Well proved to be a notable artistic leap for the band. Caedmon's Call decided to incorporate world music influences into the album during mission trips with Compassion International to India, Ecuador, and Brazil. The Indian influnce was most prominent on this album, with several Dalit musicians providing instruments and vocals. In addition to Randall Goodgame, Josh Moore and Andrew Osenga emerged as the new primary songwriters for the band.
For most of the band's tenure, lead vocals were split somewhat evenly between Cliff Young and Derek Webb. Cliff would usually sing lead on the Aaron Tate songs (he does not usually write his own songs for the group), and Derek would sing lead on the songs that he wrote, which were often more personal in nature. Danielle typically sings lead on two to four songs per album; "Piece of Glass" is the only song that she has written for the band. Once Derek Webb ceased writing songs for the band in the years leading up to his departure, Cliff emerged as the primary vocalist for the band, a role which he retains today, though Danielle has been able to sing lead more frequently as a result of this. The band's newest vocalist, Andrew Osenga, has only sung lead twice, on the song "Bombay Rain" and the hidden track "I Miss You", both of which he wrote for Share the Well.
Discography
My Calm//Your Storm (1994)
- My Calm//Your Storm
- This World
- Too Tender
- Suicidal Stones
- Forget What You Know
- Not Enough
- All I Know
- There's a Stirring
- Jar of Clay
- Coming Home
Just Don't Want Coffee (1995, out of print)
- Close of Autumn
- Not the Land
- April Showers
- I Just Don't Want Coffee
- Forget What You Know
- Another 10 Miles
Caedmon's Call (1997)
- Lead of Love
- Close of Autumn
- Not the Land
- This World
- Bus Driver
- Standing Up for Nothing
- Hope to Carry On (Rich Mullins cover)
- Stupid Kid
- I Just Don't Want Coffee
- Not Enough
- Center Aisle
- Coming Home
Limited Edition Tour EP (1997, out of print)
Guild 1 (1997, fanclub exclusive, out of print)
- Stupid Kid
- Open Letter
- Not Enough
- Bus Driver
- Glory, Glory, Lord
- Staircase Intro
- Staircase
- My Calm//Your Storm
- Not the Land
- I Waited
- Another 10 Miles
- Somewhere North of Here
- Faith My Eyes
- Down Around You
- Clean Am I
Guild 2 (1998, fanclub exclusive)
- The Rich Song
- Potiphar's Door
- This World
- Wrong Man
- Home
- I Will Sing
- Lead of Love
- In God's Country
- Me
- I Love Your Grace
- The Truth
- Coming Home
- Revelation
- Polarities
- Seagull Song
- Too Tender
40 Acres (1999)
- There You Go
- Thankful
- Shifting Sand
- Faith My Eyes
- Where I Began
- Table for Two
- Climb On (A Back that's Strong) (Shawn Colvin cover)
- Petrified Heart
- Somewhere North
- Daring Daylight Escape
- 40 Acres
Long Line of Leavers (2000)
- The Only One
- Love is Different
- Prepare Ye the Way (John Michael Talbot cover)
- Prove Me Wrong
- Mistake of My Life
- Masquerade
- What You Want
- Valleys Fill First
- Can't Lose You
- Love Alone
- Dance
- Piece of Glass
- Ballad of San Francisco
Guild 3 (2001, fanclub exclusive)
- Intro
- Hope to Carry On (Rich Mullins cover)
- Two of a Kind
- Famous Last Words
- Standing Up for Nothing
- The Lord is in His Holy Temple
- Shifting Sand
- 40 Acres
- Dance
- Lizinko
- Caedmon's Medley
- This World
- Josh Moore Intro
- Daring Daylight Escape
- Phone Call to Bebo
- Derek Serenading Bebo (parody of "I Want It that Way" by the Backstreet Boys)
- God of Wonders
- Can't Lose You
- Excerpt...
- There's a Stirring
- Where I Began
- Sound Check
In the Company of Angels: A Call to Worship (2001)
- We Delight
- Before There Was Time
- Thy Mercy
- God Who Saves
- Who You Are
- Carry Your Love
- God of Wonders (live)
- I Boast No More
- Oh Lord Your Love
- Warrior (live)
- Laden with Guilt
- The Danse
Back Home (2003)
- Only Hope
- You Created
- Walk with Me
- Hands of the Potter
- The Emptiest Day
- The Kingdom
- Beautiful Mystery
- The High Countries
- Thousand Miles
- Never Gonna Let Go
- Awake My Soul
- Manner and Means
- Mystery of Mercy
Chronicles 1992–2004 (2004, best-of collection)
- All My Life
- Thankful (extended version)
- Lead of Love (live version)
- There You Go
- This World (live version)
- Table for Two
- 40 Acres (live version)
- I Will Sing/Hope To Carry On (live version – both songs are Rich Mullins covers)
- Only Hope
- Hands of the Potter (radio mix)
- Piece of Glass
- Bus Driver (new version featuring Derek Webb)
- Before There Was Time (live version)
- Who You Are
- Faith My Eyes (live version – Derek Webb solo)
- Shifting Sand
- A New Day
Share the Well (2004)
- Intro
- Share the Well
- There's Only One (Holy One)
- Jenny Farza
- Mother India
- International Love Song
- All I Need (I Did Not Catch Her Name)
- Los Hermanos Count Off
- Volcanoland
- The Roses
- Mirzapur Group
- Bombay Rain
- The Innocent's Corner
- Sarala
- Punjabi Group with Joseph D'Souza
- Wings of the Morning
- Dalit Hymn
(Note: The album's last track features two hidden tracks: A brief solo song by Andrew Osenga, possibly titled "I Miss You", and as a longer excerpt of the Mirzapur Group performance heard earlier in the album.)