I don’t own enough albums by Waterdeep, nor do I have the patience to do a full-fledged review of this band. But driving into work today, listening to their album Sink Or Swim, I thought I would do a blog plug, plus provide a link to buy my favorite album of their’s mucho cheaply.
Waterdeep’s sound is kind of folksy, hippie-ish particularly on Sink or Swim. This album has some wonderfully poignant lyrics. From the title track:

I know You understand what it�s like to be man
Sometimes I forget You�re near
Sometimes I forget you hear
The way the raindrops fall,
the sound of the wind as it calls,
and every breath I breathe
and song I don�t sing

“I Know the Plans” is a wonderful reiteration of that promise from Jeremiah. “Lonely Sometimes,” begins with a creative juxtaposition, “I woke up from a strange rain / And it was dreaming outside.” Such playing with language continues on other tracks. Some of the songs also present surreal, parable like stories, which while weird, are very good.
My favorite album, though, is Everyone’s Beautiful, produced under the auspices of the wundermann Steve Taylor and the now unfortunately defunct Squint Entertainment, which is a sad story. EB is more polished and the sound is larger, less folksy. All songs on here are good, most are great, and some bring me to tears often. Most are reflections on brokeness and the power of God’s love to soothe the brokenhearted.
From “He Will Come“:

Soon it will be hammered into what she calls her silly head
That she really isn�t silly but she�s beautiful instead

But every time she gets a hold of something pretty, it slips away
So she keeps hoping that someday soon

CHORUS

He will come. He will come
He will comfort all that�s hardened
change the deserts into gardens
and we all will see His face.

From “Hush,” a lullaby for adults:

When you feel like the days just drone on and on and on
and you feel like the nights are quickly gone

and on the inside your heart is gaping wide
and on the inside you feel like no one�s on your side
well, I am

The title song, “Everyone’s Beautiful” is perhaps my favorite. It is an excellent elucidation of Francis Schaeffer’s (I believe) description of humans as “glorious ruins,” reflecting the biblical truth that we are fallen people orginally created in the image of God. The lyrics are not profound, but rather just little sketches of high school life. Set against that background of cliques and criticism, it is especially meaningful. Recently, I have been trying to apply that thought that, at some fundamental level, everyone is beautiful, a child of God, however estranged.
If I have piqued your interest Everyone’s Beautiful can be had for the low price of $0.99 from Christian Book Distributors. I would recommend buying 3 or 4. If you like it as much as I do, you will want to give it away. If not, you will only be out about the price of a combo meal at some fast food place. While ordering, pick up some copies of Divine Discontent by Sixpence None the Richer which is also for $0.99 and is also a fantastic album. You can listen to samples on both of these pages. The packaging on the Waterdeep is a little wonky, so hence its cheap price. The Sixpence CD is pristine, and I do not know what gives. This site has other cheaply priced Christian books and CD’s too, so look around if that is your bag or even somewhat your bag. The site is wonderfully designed for a thrifty shopper (Check out the right hand column of links).
Oh, EB also has a rollicking cover of Van Morrison’s “Whenever God Shines His Light.”