Who We Are Instead
For 2002's Eleventh Hour Jars of Clay seemed to transfer the inherent power of their music from soulful vocals and grassroots gospel to the din of ragged electric guitars and anxious drum machines. That wasn't a bad decision, necessarily, but the album did seem to be more of a mood piece than anything. For Who We Are Instead the band settled into the comfortable Tennessee environs of its own Sputnik studio and set about tuning up those old acoustic guitars. The resulting 13 songs still nod to modernism with slick production and the occasional twinge of programming. But where the electronics of Eleventh tracks like "Disappear" or "Revolution" seemed to cast a shadow, the gritty, percolating bottom end of Who We Are Instead s "Trouble Is" adds resolve to the song's slide-guitar tale of darkness and light. "My heart ain't built to stay," vocalist Dan Haseltine sings in an appropriately world weary tone. "Jesus told me so." It's in this way that Jars of Clay unites their own beliefs with the larger church of American roots music. "Amazing Grace" (with its fabulous guest shot from vocalist Ashley Cleveland is another signpost on that long U.S. route to redemption; it finds its spiritual brethren in Live s "Lightning Crashes" and U2 s "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The band even reveals the reverent heart of America s "Lonely People," transforming the song's "Don't give up!" message into a pep talk supported by mandolin and impressive '70s vocal harmonies. While the CCM pop of single "Show Me Love" and lively "I'm in the Way" is pleasant enough, it doesn't resonate as effectively in the midst of Who We Are s more honest moments. These arrive again with "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" -- influenced by the grace of the homeless, nameless street singer at the center of Gavin Bryars epic piece -- which expertly mixes naked, almost whispered vocals with slowly surging instrumentation, and closer "My Heavenly," where a simple, yet determinedly effective, paean to God weaves quietly through the strains of a chamber pop piano. Jars of Clay s devotion will ensure the embrace of Who We Are Instead by alternative CCM fans. But the band's reverence for the Americana canon aligns them with a stable of secular artists -- Counting Crows Train and Ryan Adams to name only a few -- who till the same fertile soil. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
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Credits »
Ernest Hemingway - Quotes Researched & Compiled
Ron Aniello - Producer
Ron Aniello - Engineer
Richard Dodd - Mastering
David Thoener - Engineer
Jars of Clay - Arranger
Jars of Clay - Producer
Dan Haseltine - Art Direction
Dan Haseltine - Group Member
Charlie Lowell - Group Member
Stephen Mason - Group Member
John Rummen - Cover Design
Robert Beeson - Executive Producer
Crystal Heald - Photography
Jacquire King - Engineer
Jacquire King - Mixing
Martyn Atkins - Photography
Henk Schiffmacher - Photography
Clint Roth - Engineer
Robin Geary - Make-Up
Robin Geary - Hair Stylist
Michelle Pearson - A&R
Sang Park - Assistant
Alissa Razansky - Representation
Mitch Dane - Producer
Jamie Anderson - Design
Lisa Marie - Representation
Matthew Odmark - Group Member
Mike Paragone - Assistant
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