Copious Notes

Casting Crowns are Megan Garrett, Brian Scoggin, Mark Hall, Hector Cervantes, Chris Huffman, Melodee DeVevo and Juan DeVevo. Photo by David Dobson.

The first few chords of “Until the Whole World Hears” gave me high hopes for Casting Crowns‘ fourth studio album. The title track opens with a drum crash and grinding guitar intro that seems to portend the unlikely Christian chart toppers fully embracing and enjoying their role as musicians.

Casting Crowns’ story makes you want to root for the band: A church praise band, they caught the ear of producers with a demo CD and rose to the top of the charts with albums that spoke directly to mainstream evangelicals. But they reportedly still make sure they are back at their Atlanta-area church each week. Nice story, and they’ve recorded several strong albums marked by youth pastor-frontman Mark Hall’s plainspoken lyrics.

But how far will that carry you? On the latest album, Casting Crowns assigns itself the task of telling listeners about Jesus and stumbling into creative doldrums. That’s exemplified by “Joyful, Joyful,” Crowns’ effort to put their own mark on Beethoven’s timeless “Ode to Joy” melody and subsequent hymn by Henry van Dyke. Their mark is to load it with orchestrations and harmonies that predictably soar at the end. It’s a sense of grandure, but no sense of, uh, joy.

That’s “Until the Whole World Hears” in a nutshell. The musicianship is fine, as is the production by Mark A. Miller. The sentiments are valid, and frequently lovely. But it all sounds like stuff we’ve heard before from Casting Crowns and plenty of other contemporary Christian music artists. Most of the tunes sound like retreads of Crowns hits from the past. But they lack the urgency of songs like “What if His People Prayed?” the poignance of “Praise You in This Storm” or lyrical craftsmanship of “Slow Fade,” all songs that helped make Casting Crowns one of the top-selling acts in Christian music history.

With that kind of record, and artists from Steven Curtis Chapman to the David Crowder Band releasing vital, creative albums this fall, a routine CCM effort just doesn’t cut it.

Album No. 4 is often the one where artists ascend to another level, after getting a few albums and far too many tours under their belts. Unfortunately for Casting Crowns, this seems to be the album where the band is losing its voice.

Chris Huffman on stage with Casting Crowns at the 2008 Ichthus Festival. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

The last time we checked in on Glasgow native Chris Huffman, in 2004, he was a single guy in a white-hot Christian rock band who got a charge out of seeing his group’s CDs on the shelves at Wal-Mart.

Today, Huffman remains the bass player for Casting Crowns, but he’s a married guy with two kids, which makes touring and getting back to Kentucky a bit more challenging.

Casting Crowns are Megan Garrett, Brian Scoggin, Mark Hall, Hector Cervantes, Chris Huffman, Melodee DeVevo and Juan DeVevo. Photo by David Dobson.

“Everybody in the band has kids,” Huffman said Wednesday afternoon from a tour stop in Casper, Wyo. “In fact, my wife and I just had our second child three weeks ago tomorrow.”

That makes getting back home all the more important to Huffman, and leaving harder, particularly because his wife suffers from fairly serious car-sickness, so she can’t often hit the road with the group.

“It can be hard,” Huffman said, “when you call home and find out someone’s been hurt or something big happened to not be there.”

Still, despite the separation, Huffman said that Crowns is a valuable ministry, and the band’s policy of returning home for services at its home base of Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta means he is rarely gone for an extended time.

“When you’re passionate about what you do, the negative sides don’t really bother you,” Huffman said. “I get frustrated a lot of times, but you learn to overlook the frustrations and the hardships.

“I believe God has called me to do this, and as long as he has, my response is, I’m here; send me.”
Huffman, who was born in Glasgow and lived there until he was 10, returns to Kentucky next week with the band’s concert Thursday night at Rupp Arena. The band is touring in support of its new album, Until the Whole World Hears, set for release Nov. 17.

Huffman loves his job, but the band’s fourth studio album and family obligations have quelled that Wal-Mart thrill. Somewhat.

“When I go to Wal-Mart, I’m usually going to the grocery and baby department,” he said. “But sometimes I get to electronics, and it’s nice to see we’re there.”