Dig Here Said the Angel

Daniel Amos’ latest album, Dig Here Said the Angel, finds the veteran band in fine form with a sound both vintage and modern. As usual, these songs offer the combination of Terry Taylor’s genius lyrics backed by a group of sometimes underrated musicians. Taylor’s best new lyrics are inspired by shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus Wept.” It finds him meditating upon Christ’s humanity, leaving him feeling far less self-conscious about his own daily human struggles. He knows this life isn’t always fair when he sings, “Another bad guy wins/More good friends die/They mounted up like eagles/Now they’re dropping like flies.” We’d all like to honestly ask, “Death, where is thy sting?” but most of us simply can’t ask that confidently. Taylor concurs by begging, “Help me understand when death still stings.” Jesus, the man, did the only reasonable thing when observing the human condition — He wept. So must we, sometimes.