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Album Review
I
was one of the people who really like jars of clay's
first album, and then lost interest over the years.
Then came "who we are instead". I picked it up
on a whim, and immediately fell in love with it. So I
was quite excited to hear the new cd would be old
hymns, done in jars' own style. while it is not quite
what I expected, it is one of my favorite JoC albums.
The album is indeed comprised of
all old hymns; REALLY old hymns. Many of the lyrics are
King James style, with thee's and thine's throughout.
The music is what we expect from Jars Of Clay: killer
vocal harmonies, lots of guitar, and a slight country
flair. (more so in some songs than others on this
record.) some of the songs are versions from the
Indelible Grace organization, (www.igracemusic.com),
some are arrangements done by Jars.
The opener, God Be Merciful to Me (psalm 51) is
a great intro to the CD, reminding me of what made jars
of clay the phenomenon they are today. Gorgeous words,
this one has a VERY country sound, and leads into the
rest of the disc perfectly. Lyrically a song of true
worship, asking for God's mercy on us in our sinful
state, it seems to state the purpose for the project.
Another highlight for me is the gospel classic "i'll
fly away" done in a very modern, but somehow still
very true to the gospel roots form. this is one of the
few songs on the CD to retain the original melody line.
Sarah Kelly sings with the guys on this one,
bringing to mind Ashley Cleveland's
vocals from "who we are...". again this
song has a very country feel to it (i seem to gravitate
towards their country tunes more than their attempts at
rock), and it's hard to sit still as they hit the
rousing gospel chorus.
I
would be remiss if I did not mention" nothing but
the blood" and "on jordans stormy banks i stand".
On these they are joined by the incomparable Blind
Boys Of Alabama . For "nothing but the
blood" there are hints of the original tune, but
the melody has been rearranged with a new feel, and the
song itself has a very bluesy feel to it....and the
blind boys of course....another upbeat tune, with some
flat out amazing vocals. "on jordan's stormy banks"
is a little slower, a gorgeous song, with everyone
making, again gorgeous harmonies.
"it is well with my soul" may be the most unique
arrangement of this song I have ever heard. Vocally,
the melody line is changed just enough that it is hard
to sing along with, but is very cool. Musically, it is
very upbeat and cheerful, not the slower, somber way
most of us are used to hearing this song. it
almost has a funky feel to it in places, with tons of
cool syncopated rythms. Quite possibly my favorite on
the cd.
Overall, while there are songs on "who we are
instead" that I like better than anything here,
this is quite possible their most consistent and CD in
some years. For all the flack they catch, jars of clay
are truly masters at what they do. Interestingly, this
cd is not marketed as a worship cd, though many of
these songs are far more worshipful ( and better songs
by even further) than most of what is being played as
worship music, or sung in most of our church's.
Ten years and 6 albums into their career, they have, in
my opinion, truly hit their stride and found where they
fit. if they continue in this vein, we will be hearing
from these guys for many years to come.
~
Larry Laster
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