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Showing reviews 1-5 of 55
 Mesmerizing! April 23, 2009
snoogins4life
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Of all the Christian rock groups active today, few have had the constant success of Jars of Clay. I have been a fan of theirs since I was given "Much Afraid" as a gift for my 17th birthday. I was not aware of them prior to that. I have been madly in love with their music since the day I received that album. It still contains my favorite song from them, "Frail".
Since that time I have eagerly anticipated each album and found that each album was very different from the last but still remained true to the group as a whole. Dan's beautiful and rich lyrics bring each and every song a layer of emotion that is sore lacking in so much music in today's world. Charlie, Matt and Stevens ability to flow with each song instrumentally is another reason each and every album is so fantastic. From the stripped down sounds of their self titled album, to the polished pop of "The Eleventh Hour" and then to the soulful organic sounds of "Who We Are Instead" and even beyond to the world/new age tapestry of "Good Monsters", no group has been able to consistently release fantastic albums so consecutively.
And, no group has been able to use a musical format over again for another album yet still make said album a reinvention. Yet, here we are with "The Long Fall Back To Earth" an album that for me harkens back to the sounds of "If I Left The Zoo" and "The Eleventh Hour" with a flair of "Good Monsters", but it still sounds new and joyously refreshing. I have seen Jars 7 times in concert and have experienced magical moments from unplanned events. At a concert in Virginia several years ago, a horrible storm hit during their set, and instead of stopping they unplugged the electronics got out the acoustic guitar and performed "Frail","Silence" and "Worlds Apart" until the rain stopped and it was safe to plug in again. The first track on the album reminds me of that. "The Long Fall" feels like an unplanned just made instrumental ditty to pass time, but in a fantastically good way. It is only the starting point of a perfect album.
So many years and so many albums have come out of Jars and I'm amazed at how much I'm still moved by them. "Weapons" is a powerful rock song crying out for enemies to lay down their guns, fists, hateful words and mean comments and see that we are not each others enemy, we are all brothers and sisters. The first single from the album "Two Hands" is a fav of mine talking about not letting the good things in life pass you by due to all you think you need to do. "If I had two hands, doing the same thing...lifted high...lifted high" is such a powerful lyric. "Heaven" is a great song talking about the masks we wear in our everyday life, and reminder that being our true selfs will get us farther. "Closer" is a powerful cry for love either from one human to another or from a human to their higher power. "Safe To Land" my second favorite song on the album reminds me greatly of "Portrait for an Apology" from "Much Afraid" in that it is simply a song about asking for forgiveness from someone we've hurt. "Headphones" is such a great song, it is a very calm and quiet song yet it's lyrics cry out to us, saying take off your headphones (or all the material things) and pay attention to the ones you love and communicate. "Don't Stop" is so so SO catchy, I've been humming it's lyrics all day "Ba Baba Ba Ba Ba BaBa...don't stop, don't stop for me now." The song is a straight forward love song. Now comes my favorite song on the album "Boys (Lesson One)" is a prayer from a father to his son, asking for him to never forget who he is, or what he wants out of life, but to make sure he realizes the right ways to get there and not to hurry and not enjoy life. It is such a beautiful song with such powerful lyrics. "So you know who you are, and you know what you want, I've been where your going and it's not that far. It's too far to walk but you don't have to run, you'll get there in time." Wow. The next song "Hero" is another fav for me, it speaks of wanting and needing a hero to help change the way the world is going, to help us see what we're doing to save us from ourselves. "Scenic Route" is such a sad song to me, it talks of a relationship coming to an end and how the singer wishes to take the "scenic route" or take longer to keep the pain from being so sharp. It's heart wrenching. Yet the next song is the polar opposite, "There Might Be A Light" reminds me of the movie "Say Anything", just put the words to this song in place of the one he plays outside her window and you'll see what I mean. "Forgive Me" is just that a song asking for forgiveness, and then we have my other favorite and the last song on the album "Heart". This is such a powerful song, asking someone for their love, and letting them know that they already have his. It's a beautiful song, and a perfect ending to such a fantastic album.
Fourteen years ago, Jars came on the seen and in all those years they have constantly won me over with their heart felt lyrics, their infectious sounds and with their messages of hope and love. If your a fan of Christian pop this is an album to get, and get some of their others that I've mentioned. Their music is not in your face christian in that they don't speak directly about Jesus or God, but they are faith filled and spiritual. A must listen.
Jars of Clay [The Long Fall Back To Earth] April 21, 2009
Kevin R. Davis (Perkasie, PA)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Jars of Clay has built an extraordinary career based on the uncompromising integrity of its music, worldview, and humanitarianism. Jars of Clay's last album, Good Monsters, was my favorite Jars of Clay album since the amazing self-titled debut. That album managed to reinvent the band's sound while tackling subjects as diverse and demanding as social responsibility, spiritual doubt and the duality of the human heart. Now, three years later, Jars of Clay returns with The Long Fall Back To Earth. The album's first single, "Two Hands," builds on the duality theme from "Good Monsters." Haseltine's lyrics observe, "I use one hand to pull you closer / The other to push you away," before going on to suggest that this internal conflict can be overcome with a simple, but profound course of action: "Two hands doing the same thing / Lifted high." According to Dan Haseltine: "`Two Hands' was the last song we wrote for the record. We'd been trying to find a way to try to connect all the various themes of the album--relationships, faith, social justice--with one unifying anthem."
That desire to connect is the primary theme of The Long Fall Back To Earth and nowhere is it more explicitly stated than in "Closer," the first song recorded for the record. When Haseltine sings "I'll drop out of the race for more personal space / `Cause the rockets we're in get so cold, and I miss your skin," he's never sounded more direct or personal. One of the last songs written for the record is the instrumental opener "The Long Fall," which gently introduces the theme of the record before giving way to the marching wake-up call of the song "Weapons."
This is the most amazing album I've heard in the past year and ranks right with Third Day's Revelation last year. Jars of Clay has managed to channel the best of themselves, almost unanimously agreed to be the self-titled debut album and give fans what they've come to expect with anthems like "Weapons," "Two Hands," "Safe To Land" and "Heaven," the stand-out songs for me. However similar to Third Day, they've also mixed up their sound and pulled out all of the stops with inventive new electronic songs like the instrumental opener "The Long Fall," "Closer," "Don't Stop," "Boys (Lesson One)" and the closing song "Heart." I immediately replayed the songs "Hero" and "Scenic Route," which are both amazing instrumentally and lyrically.
I'll be measuring all other albums this year against "The Long Fall To Earth". Whether you are a long-time fan of Jars of Clay or have recently discovered them, you won't be disappointed with this album which for me is a 5 star masterpiece.
It is Safe to Land. June 8, 2009
Jacob Cowell (Waterloo, IA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"The Long Fall Back to Earth" could quite possibly be the best album that I have purchased in years. I have been a fan of Jars of Clay for a long time, and I would have to say that this is their best album ever, including their self titled debut. The sound quality and the way that this album flows is exceptional. But it is the musical harmonies and the messages that can be derived from the lyrics to these tracks that make "The Long Fall" awesome. This starts out with one of the coolest instrumentals that I've ever heard and goes into the crunching Weapons. This is followed up by the wrenching Two Hands, and the synth-rocker Heaven. Hero, Headphones, and Scenic Route are also stand out tracks on this album. However, I would have to say that the best track, hands down, is Safe to Land. Listen to the lyrics and form your own opinion as to what they mean. I have, and I'm glad that I did. Job well done guys. Keep up the awesome work.
Peace and Love,
Jake
This One Grows On You - Review From a Jew September 10, 2009
Earl Weinz (Boston, MA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
First of all, I want to note that I am a religious Orthodox Jew. I know that it's probably weird that I am a huge JOC fan, but I honestly think these guys create some of the most beautiful music out there. Ever since their 1995 self-entitled album, I have been a fan. Of course there are some albums that are better than others, but this one is right up there with the best of them. Some albums have lyrics that are more literal and some are more metaphorical. Obviously, as a Jew, I prefer the metaphorical lyrics since I can relate to them more as referencing God, as opposed to Jesus (since that's not my belief). This album is less explicit and more metaphorical.
Second, I will note that I am a musician. JOC just knows how to make music. It's that simple. They know how to write tunes, lyrics, how to organize instrumentation, and how to create an actual song (something 98% of the bands out there nowadays cannot do). They know how to throw in flare and keep songs exciting, often building up songs to a grand finale.
Now, on to the album. At first, only a few songs really stood out to me. But after about 5 listens through, I can honestly say this album is just great from start to finish, and better than Good Monsters. Of course there are a few songs that are still just ok to me (such as Forgive Me and There Might Be a Light). As a child of the 80's who's witnessed the great decline of musical integrity and songwriting over the past 2 decades, I am deeply pleased with this album's 80's-influence. The album has its fair share of excellent uptempo songs, like Weapons, Heaven, Closer, Don't Stop, Headphones and Heart. Hero really sounds like it could be from a movie soundtrack, and it displays Dan's excellent vocal range. Two Hands is a good radio pop tune. And of course no JOC album would be a JOC album if it didn't have the requisite gorgeous songs. This one's got Safe to Land, Boys, and The Scenic Route. However, Worlds Apart is still in my opinion their most beautiful song of all.
To conclude, this album is excellent, but I think it's the kind that grows on you. Don't give up after one listen. Great job JOC. Keep up the good work.
Krachtige voortzetting muzikale reis April 30, 2009
H.J. van der Klis (Balkbrug, Overijssel Netherlands)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
De opvolger van Good Monsters (2006) opent met een britpop 'drone' The Long Fall, alsof Coldplay en Keane in Nashville zijn geland. De track loopt over in Weapons, een uptempo pop/rocksong, met een echt Jars-geluid. Deze eerste vrucht als independent band is bijzonder stabiel en professioneel. Relaties staan centraal op het album, van de moeite met het onderweg zijn (Closer, Safe To Land), verlangen (There Might Be a Light, Heart). Two Hands begint bescheiden, maar wordt uitgemeten tot een catchy pop/rocksong die het in concerten goed zal doen. Heaven bezingt de groei van Gods Koninkrijk in onze harten. Closer knipoogt naar de 80's met een electronica die doet denken aan Depeche Mode en Daniel Amos. Met Safe to Land zitten de Jars onmiskenbaar in het vaarwater van Snow Patrol. Katie Herzig voegt met haar achtergrondvocalen echt wat toe aan het ingetogen Headphones en het opnieuw retro klinkende Don't Stop. Boys (Lesson One) laat het simplisme van veel ouderlijke 'wijsheden' zien. Hero zit wel heel dicht tegen U2 aan, terwijl het met Jeremy Lutito en Gabe Ruschival geschreven Scenic Route aan Gino Vanelli's Wild Horses deed denken. De Jars of Clay signature song Forgive Me belicht diverse manieren om vergeving te vragen. Het puntige Heart sluit sterk af. Het 9e studioalbum in een krachtige voortzetting van de muzikale reis van dit kwartet.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 55
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