Cam's Even Song - Isreal's Real Thing

Hear The Track Here

I really had a bad, bad impression of Christian rock in the early days, and online it was - if anything - even worse. My long, long residence at Soundclick has, however, introduced me to a much more realistic brand of getting the message across. Musicians like One Kid's Lunch, Ron Gragg and Cam's Even Song are a joy to listen to as pieces of music, made even more so by them having the good taste not to try and ram the message down your throat while they are at it. Personally I prefer Cam's Biblical mode, it is very effective as I have pointed out many times in the past. This is partly because he is an excellent lyricist, partly because his music is always, but always fun to listen to and - last but not least - he is at his strongest as an artist in tracks like this.

I have compared him (in this mode) to Bob Dylan, and the reference still holds true although - to my ears anyway - Cam's voice sounds distinctly different to his earlier works. Now whether that has to do with the natural function of his voice or whether it's a new bit of kit but I like it. So although he's lost a bit of the timbre and tone of his earlier tracks, it's than made up for by Cam's effortless vocals. The music is pure Cam and has more echoes back to (say) Nashville Skyline than anything else, but I have also become much more aware how much Cam has adapted this sound as his own over the years and I'd say he's definitely earned the right.

As always with this songwriter, the music pulls you in, puts its arm around your waist and waltzes off with you so it takes more than a couple of plays to get to the real heart of the song. Sung from the perspective of Pontius Pilate, a man who obviously knew Jesus Christ was innocent, it tells about his reaction to events and - considering the lyrical content - does a great job of illustrating the scene. For example, I defy you not to sing along with the line that goes '"Say what? Say what?" I said. "Blasphemes! Just pours from his head!' or this from the end of the track '"Say what? Say what?" I said. Put a crown of thorns on his head, In Hebrew and Latin and Greek I wrote, "The King of the Jews" in a post-it note'. Incredibly catchy, incredibly Cam at his very best.

MUST HAVE song.