Derek Webb I Was Wrong, I'm Sorry & I Love You Review

There are few artists that I've found myself drawn to over the last ten years as much as Derek Webb. Where most artists find their audience and do their best to either cater to their tastes or to try to determine how far they can push their artistic boundaries within acceptable limits so as to maintain their following, Derek has unapologetically shifted the boundaries stylistically to continue to explore new territory seemingly from album to album. He also has a lyrical sensibility that can wander from painfully confessional to cuttingly prophetic (with more than just a touch of a cynic's perspective) and has some detractors who find his use of poetic ambiguity too vague while others cringe at his no holds barred directness.

While not all of these things find their resting place in Derek's new album I Was Wrong, I'm Sorry & I Love You, this is his most accessible album in several years and contains many of the elements of Derek's best work. As the title would imply, it is (in part) an olive branch from an artist to an audience that may have left the conversation at some point in the journey. That is not to say that he is apologizing for past statements or previous works. In fact, Derek has stated that when performing the songs from his first solo album She Must and Shall Go Free earlier this year, that he was pleased to find that the songs rang just as true now as they did when he first wrote them. Derek has said that in the past he has not felt the need to restate things he has previously said, but instead has used those things to build upon. His intent with this album was to revisit the same questions that he asked 10 years ago when he wrote She Must and Shall Go Free and to answer those same questions 10 years farther along on the journey. What emerges serves more as an invitation back into dialogue with echos both thematically and stylistically of previous works.

It is fitting then that the invitation is issued at the start with a verse from the title track that recaps Derek's previous work as a way of reflecting on the journey he's been on as an artist and also as mile markers reminding listeners of where they may have left the conversation. The apology that follows is part clarification ("But over all these years, these three things I've tried to say") and part confession ("I've loved too much and not enough in the same breath") and show a man ready to make amends for both things deserved and things presumed by others for the sake of maintaining a relationship moving forward.

Ultimately, it's a collection that works very well and represents some of his best work. Derek writes with his typical eloquence and there are multiple songs that continue to linger including the title track, Eye of a Hurricane, Heavy, Everything Will Change, Nothing But Love, and The Vow. There are certainly other standout tracks and even those that will be less likely to earn earworm status are purposeful, well written, and deserve their fair share of attention.

While stylistically, there is little here that Derek hasn't explored before, the ability to echo styles from previous recordings and to weave them into one cohesive whole is an act of artistry all its own. Also evident is Derek's growth as a producer and lessons learned in the area of composition from his Feedback project which provide musical elements that are both subtle and purposeful that help the songs connect.

You'll find a more detailed analysis of each song posted soon as I continue to digest them, but this is easily one of my favorite releases of the year so far.

The album is available for pre-order with immediate digital download at http://www.derekwebb.com/WSL/ in several different package forms. If you are unfamiliar with Derek or haven't listened to him in awhile, my recommendation would be the "Welcome Back" package which includes all of Derek's solo albums (8 in all) for $25 in digital format or $35 for digital plus physical copies.