''The Ringing Bell'' (2007) is the fourth solo album release from singer-songwriter

Derek Webb Derek Walsh Webb (born May 27, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter of independent and Christian music who first entered the music industry as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, and later embarked on a successful solo career. As a member of ...

.'
Derek Webb Speaks Out And Is Heard
'' (June 29, 2007). Press Release. Retrieved January 15, 2008.

Background

Webb has described the record as a rock record but that "it's fitting that it would be a hard thing to categorize that you couldn't just call it a rock record, that it would be too easy." He also stated that the song "Name" was "probably as close to a thesis as the record has." It carries Webb's theme that "categories in general are not helpful...it's hard to live in a world of categories when really what we need is to know each other and to engage each other and not to let our categories do the talking." Webb has stated in response to some of his lyrics in "A Love That's Stronger Than Our Fear" and "A Savior on Capitol Hill", which generated talk that Webb was against the George Bush administration, that "I'm not anti-Bush at all...all things considered he deserves the benefit of the doubt and I want to give it to him...This has nothing to do with any specific people."

Reception

''The Ringing Bell'' received universally positive reviews from Christian critics. The review site ''Patrol'' gave the album a nine on the site's ten-point scale – a record high – praising its "substance." ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

'' gave ''The Ringing Bell'' a 5 out of 5 and ranked it No. 27 on their Top 100 albums of 2007.

Track listing

Personnel

BandDerek Webb, ''The Ringing Bell'' (liner notes), INO Records, 2007 *Derek Webb – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars,

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

(1), upright and

tack piano A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the ha ...

(1, 2), hand claps (4), noise (1) *Cason Cooley – organ (2, 6), percussion (3, 4, 6), upright and tack piano (4, 5, 7), hand claps (4), make out guitar (4), guitar solo (6) *Matt Pierson – bass guitar *Will Sayles – drums, percussion Additional musicians *

Ben Shive Benjamin Aaron Shive (born September 26, 1979) is an American Christian musician, keyboardist, arranger, and music producer, who mainly plays acoustic Christian pop and folk rock music. He has released two studio albums, ''The Ill-Tempered Klavie ...

–

string arrangements The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...

(2, 5, 8),

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

(2, 8) *Jason Fitz – violin (2, 5, 8) *Court Clement – electric guitar (4) *Gary Burnette – electric guitar (5, 7) *Steve Mason –

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of play ...

, electric and

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

(8),

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

guitar (9) Technical * Derek Webb – producer, additional engineer, vocal engineer at Sumner Studio, East Nashville, Tennessee, art direction * Cason Cooley – producer, additional engineer at The Smoakstack, Nashville, Tennessee * Andy Hunt –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

at The Smoakstack, Nashville, Tennessee * Shane D. Wilson – mixing at Pentavarit, Nashville, Tennessee * Jim DeMain – mastering at Yes Master, Nashville, Tennessee * Brannon Mcallister – art direction * Jeremy Cowart – photography * Chris Koelle – illustration * Brannon McAllister – design, layout

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringing Bell, The 2007 albums Derek Webb albums