Jars of Clay

Item: Jars of Clay
Author: Robert Berman

(1995)

Reviewed by Robert Berman

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Label Essential RecordsThe LighthouseMay 1995

acoustic rock alternative rock folk rock

Mom always told me that the first impression counts the most. TV knows it's true--that's why commercials are full of Ban Roll-on, Head & Shoulders, and Colgate toothpaste: because people always remember their first impression of you. Listening to the debut album from Jars of Clay, it's evident that they know it, too. This acoustic-pop foursome may or may not have turned in the most impressive debut in CCM history, but they've definitely rolled out the finest CCM pop song to hit my ears in the last year.

Not that they did it all by themselves. Mainstream alt-rock wunderkind Adrian Belew helped with production and instruments on a couple of tracks, including the album opener, "Liquid," which blows the doors off the walls that still separate Christian rock from the greater world of music. It can blow the doors off your house, too. Indeed, after hearing this tune, my expectations were so high that the rest of the album was a comparative letdown. Comparative is the key word there. Make no mistake; this is a great album which belongs in any music collection that also contains Toad the Wet Sprocket, Sarah McLachlan, or Seal. Imagine an acoustic version of Newsboys. Lead vocalist Dan Haseltine at times bears a spooky resemblance to Steven Curtis Chapman, both in tone and pronunciation, but this album is more than a Great Adventure.

Beyond the excellent mix of clear acoustic guitar and crisp drum programming, the album is further distinguished by the freshest use of a string section I've heard in years. I could scarcely believe it was studio fixture, the Nashville String Machine, as arranged by Ron Huff, adding a wondrous depth to songs like "Art in Me." Belew himself even picks up a cello to help with "Flood," and "Boy on a String" is like a mini-seminar on how to make a fiddle sound cool in a pop song.

Lyrically, these guys have it together. Clear statements of faith abound, but couched in memorable idioms and allusions, like the aforementioned "Boy on a String" and "Art in Me." Topics range from the confessional and exhortative to a longing for a deeper, simpler faith.

A couple of minor production missteps mar this otherwise textbook album. The vocals occasionally could have used a little processing to help them compete with the techno drums. And the use of children's voices in two songs, while appropriate given the songs' lyrics, doesn't really fit the music and wears thin on repeated listenings. It's a hard balance between simple and silly when you include kids, and I can only think of a couple of examples in all of pop music where the entrance of children's voices or a kid's choir really enhanced the song in question. But this album has little else to be ashamed of; it's a great example of creative excellence in music. Evidently, sometimes great things come in Jars of Clay.