Save the Day

Being a singer/songwriter doesn't necessarily mean that an artist records original songs exclusively. Take Kate Campbell, for example. Although Campbell is an expert when it comes to songwriting, she has also performed her share of covers and traditional songs. In fact, only four of the 12 tracks on Campbell's Christian-oriented 2006 recording For the Living of These Days were songs that she co-wrote. But original material is the rule on Save the Day, Campbell's 2008 follow-up to For the Living of These Days; Campbell wrote or co-wrote all 12 of the songs on this 47-minute CD, and her writing is generally excellent. Save the Day, unlike For the Living of These Days, isn't an album with a consistent Christian focus; nonetheless, Christian themes assert themselves on some of the songs, especially "Looking for Jesus," "Falling out of Heaven," and the thought-provoking "Everybody Knows Elvis." But ultimately, Save the Day is a secular album, albeit a secular album with Christian-influenced reflections at times. It is also an appealing demonstration of the influence that country can have on folk-rock. Save the Day, like other Campbell releases, is essentially a folk-rock album, but it's a folk-rock album with a strong country influence — and that country influence is clearly an asset on contemplative offerings such as "Dark Night of the Soul," "Fordlandia," "Back to the Moon," and "Color of Love." You won't hear these songs on commercial country stations in the United States, but country has obviously had a very positive effect on the southerner's folk-rock. Save the Day is a fine addition to Campbell's catalog.