Copyright ©1996, ProMotion, inc.
www@acloserlook.com
Equally satisfying is the CD-Rom version of the album, which includes live concert clips, interviews with the band members, audio selections from their acclaimed demo project Frail, and, for the computer jockeys out there, Jars of Clay screensavers.
But the heart of it isn't techno wizardry; it's the music and the message. Jars of Clay doesn't shy away from tough topics-"He" is about child abuse, "Sinking" is about drug addiction-but this is no angry rock album. (It's got cellos!) I recently put the CD on, hit the repeat button and let it play for several hours in my office. It was perfect musical wallpaper, a pleasant background of sound to a day of work, occasionally catching my ear with some bit of strings or piano or harmony vocal I hadn't caught before, while the lyrics worked into my subconscious.
Yet the album also works on a primary level too-if you're a fan of acoustic-derived lite rock and like a little adventure in your music, then plug Jars of Clay into your car's tape or CD player, roll the windows down and take a leisurely drive.
Thrill to the cello and violins and the insistently pulsing acoustic guitars as you contemplate the message of "Flood." The album's first big single, "Flood" isn't a musical narrative of Noah's story-the deluge this time is the guilt and sin we often drown ourselves in even though Christ died to save us from the same. The band calls the song "a desperate plea for help."
Help is found in the crucifixion described in "Liquid," where a monk-like chorus/chant accents the bands' simple retelling of the crucifixion in graphic terms, declaring that Jesus' death was not in vain. "This is the one thing, the one thing that I know," the band sings. The track opens the album and sets the musical tone, all overlapping strings, guitars and vocals, broken only occasionally by choice bits of piano or other accents.
The album closes with "Blind," a quiet and introspective song about the difficulty of logical man letting himself really believe in the Savior's love. The song fades out after less than four minutes, but the CD keeps spinning for several minutes of silence, followed by a short unnamed song (call it "Earthen Vessels") and then nearly 20 minutes of strings and then silence and then some chatter and then more strings and silence, like someone left the tape rolling in the studio.
You'll be much happier if you just skip through it and replay the rest of the album. Several times. You'll be glad you did every time.
Bill Hobbs is a reviewer for Christian music publications. He lives in Nashville, TN.
Copyright ©1996, ProMotion, inc.
www@acloserlook.com