If you ever wondered what effect being on a Christian Music label has on a band, this is an excellent tutorial. This album shows how a band capable of playing a wide range of styles quickly found itself pigeonholed by the CCM industry into a narrow, retro production style, as an attempt to cash in on a gimmick.
This is a whopping album: 20 tracks, 17 of them full-length songs. (The other three are short, silly remixes and the now-obligatory goofy track) Of the 17 songs, 3 are not on any of their albums (except a super-rare release known as The Songbird Sessions), 2 are cover tunes (Clapton's "Let it Rain," and of course, the Byrds' "Turn, Turn, Turn"), and the other 12 are really interesting.
Just so there's no confusion, let's say it now: These songs are demo versions, not originally intended for our listening pleasure. But even considering that, it's amazing how good they sound overall.
But beyond that, many of these songs sound more interesting than their album counterparts. If, like me, you eventually grew tired of JT doing their "hey, hey, we're the Monkees" schtick album after album, then you'll be amazed at what songs like "Wind and Wave," "Church of Do What You Want To," and "If You Believe" were intended to sound like before they were Byrdified. Then you get gems like the original "About Sex," and maybe their best Steve Tayloresque lyrics on "If Superman Got Saved."
The liner notes are superb, filled with pictures and devoting half a page (in the CD version) to explaining the background behind each song's construction. The liner notes complain that the Jacob's Trouble album was pegged by critics as too U2-like. Well, I'm going to have to side with the "critics" on this one. "Better Days" is an incredible song, even the best on this album. But Keith's vocals do sound spookily like Bono.
If you ever liked Jacob's Trouble, then this album belongs in your collection. This is music the way God surely intends it: the heartfelt creativity of believers writing about their lives and faith, without trying to make a "sale."
