Search - Jars of Clay :: Long Fall Back to Earth

Long Fall Back to Earth
Jars of Clay
Long Fall Back to Earth
Genres: Pop, Rock, Christian & Gospel
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1

No Description Available. Genre: Popular Music Media Format: Compact Disk Rating: Release Date: 21-APR-2009

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Jars of Clay
Title: Long Fall Back to Earth
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: PROVIDENT
Original Release Date: 1/1/2009
Re-Release Date: 4/21/2009
Genres: Pop, Rock, Christian & Gospel
Styles: Adult Alternative, Pop & Contemporary, Rock & Alternative
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 083061090326

Synopsis

Product Description
No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 21-APR-2009

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Member CD Reviews

Stacia A. from WOODSTOCK, MD
Reviewed on 3/19/2012...
Excellent CD. Has some U2 leanings at times. Best CD by Jars of Clay since their debut album. Highly recommend!
Doug S. (Dstelt) from WISC RAPIDS, WI
Reviewed on 3/14/2010...
Pretty good cd, these guys do it right and sound great doing it!

CD Reviews

Their best album in years, minus a song or two.
Robert Hammond | Oshkosh, WI | 04/21/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since going "indie", Christian festival staple Jars of Clay have been at work at a nearly impossible task: creating an artistic work that would also be appeasing to Christian markets. If it's too artistic, Christian radio won't pick it up, if it comes across as compromised or uninspired, people might wonder why they bothered leaving a major label in the first place, and lose interest.



After a third listen to Long Fall, I am happy to announce that Jars of Clay has made a pop record that quietly remolds their sound, continues their thought-provoking lyrics, and offers THE BEST melodies and arrangements of their career.



Good Monsters did not meet the expectations created by Haseltine when described it as a "rock record" (it was hyped as such by CCM Magazine, and then assumed by Dove and Christianity Today). It is a shame because GM was right on par for Jars- enjoyable pop combined with mellow lyrics- but they had done that before, and better, I think. On Long Fall, they have done what they did not completely achieve on Good Monsters: a new sound.



Dan Haseltine was wise not to fill the album with songs like "Headphones" and "Scenic Route". He, instead, paints them in the background of tunes like the worship-rock single "Two Hands". I've heard this was the last song written for this album. If it was, no doubt there was a commercial reason for this. Christian radio, after all, still needs a single. Though, I don't think Jars are at fault, this is still the market they are vying to keep, and who wouldn't have seen the same potential in the song?



My favorite track is "Weapons", which I've listened to more than the rest. "Lay your weapons down, there are no enemies in front of you". Not a cry to end the conflict in Iraq, but a cry in the wilderness for worldwide internal unity. I can't speak for Dan, but it would seem he had a specific group of prejudiced, militant people in mind when he wrote the song. Let us hope it is who I think it is.



A couple of songs ("Heaven" and "Scenic Route") are an homage to The Arcade Fire (the mandolin gives it away), and Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line had a strong influence on "Weapons". The direction they are choosing as independent artists is definite and exciting. "Hero", featured on NBC series "Kings", highlights Dan's excellent use of falsetto, and has huge potential as a single.



"Heart", the album's closer, is the most experimental track on the album, and probably the most personal tune on the record. Sprinkled with loops, a plethora of instruments, and a short verse/chorus/turnaround progression . . . the most beautiful lyric on the album: "No mountains to climb, papers to sign, offer your heart, I've given you mine". The melody is simple and the lyrics cover a huge scope. I think this might be a metaphor for the music that they are hoping to create, and mission statement for the band's future.



Over their career, Jars of Clay have played countless cities, had top 40 success, and have toured relentlessly throughout. Now, they don't need to prove anything, they don't need the 5 album record label contract. They just want to give you their best, which is what they did on this album."
Another surprise direction
Da BrandoChipper | 04/21/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"How does a band top a cd as excellent as 2006's Good Monsters? Answer: Dont even try. The new release from Jars of Clay is so different from their last release, that it avoids comparison. At this point, I still like Good Monsters a tad better, but it doesnt matter. This new cd stands very well on its own and I really look forward to hearing many of these tracks live.



Back in 1995, I started listening to Jars of Clay to get away from produced sounding pop music. Its interesting that Jars new release is exactly that: highly produced yet sophisticated pop music. You can definitely hear a lot of the studio noises, beeps, and toys, but Jars integrity and soul always shines through. There are some fist waving anthems that urge us to crank the volume up (Weapons and Heaven) and there are tender moments that make us stop and contemplate our relationship to the ones we love and to the world around us (Safe to Land and Headphones). More than any other Jars cd, I can imagine many of these songs on mainstream radio. True, the music is more mainstream than anything they have done before, but Jars manages to pull your mind and soul into the music much more than average pop music. I guess Im saying this to combat any who may accuse them of "selling out". They may be using radio friendly pop music as a medium, but the Jars of Clay stamp is definitely here in abundance.



I only have a couple of very minor complaints. For one, I find that the song Hero is about a minute and a half too long. There are only two verses and both verses are completed 90 seconds into the song, yet the song is almost 5 minutes long. The chorus is repeated so many times that the song almost wears out its welcome. Its a good rock song, I just wish that there was either one more verse or it was a shorter song. Intitially, I thought "There Might Be A Light" should have been the closing song. But the more I lsten to "Heart", the more I realize Jars made the right decision. "Heart" is a wonderful quirky song that mixes many of Jars' trademark elements under an umbrella of electronica and seems to intimately tie together many of the themes explored on this album. The guitar line in "Heart" seems to hearken back to "Frail" from the "Much Afraid" album, and it really does seem like a modernized sequal to that song. In a spot or two on this album, the lyrics get a tad cheesy (an unreachable itch, if you hemorrhage I'll stitch) but top to bottom the lyrics are heartfelt,poignant, and often powerful. Case in point: Boys (Lesson One) is a powerful and quiet father to son ballad...FAR superior to Scott Stapp's generic and overblown "Arms Wide Open". This contains my favorite lyric on the entire album "Its too far to walk, but you dont have to run to get there in time." Dan Haseltine often cleverly uses contradiction to make things seem mysteriously clear.



Im glad to see Jars of Clay refuses to stay in one place musically. They force their fans to remain open to new styles and they seem quite adept at just about anything they try. The Long Fall Back to Earth is a welcome edition to the current musical landscape. I have been a U2 fan for 25 years and they have also released a cd this year which received a ton of hype. But, and I might get eggs thrown at me for saying this, Jars of Clay has outdone U2 this time around."