Album of The Year
Posted October 17, 2010
By gizmodad,
Ever since the release of their debut album way back in 1995, legendary Christian music figures Jars of Clay have consistently delivered magical music. I remember first being introduced to their music on the release of their first album. With hits like "Flood", "Liquid" and "Love Song For A Saviour" this album gained enormous popularity for the band. Since then the guys have released ten more studio albums. After not even two years since their last excellent album, Jars of Clay are back with their latest beautiful worship collaboration titled The Shelter. Can the guys from Jars produce another album full of magic as they have done for the past 17 years?
Musically, The Shelter is not that different from The Long Fall Back to Earth, but in another way it is an entirely new collection compared to their past albums. The main difference is that there are an array of special guests featured in most of the songs. For a moment you might be thinking to yourself "Is this a Jars of Clay album or a Brandon Heath album", but multiple listens will soon wipe this thought from you mind. This new album was inspired by an old Irish proverb that when translated says "It is in the shelter of each other that the people live." The combination of talent from artists such as tobyMac, Brandon Heath, David Crowder, Mac Powell and Audrey Assad (to name a few) with Jars of Clay creates the atmosphere that the band had in mind; writing worship songs that reach out to the people and community around us. Lyrically, The Shelter is a superior force. The album is a beautiful collection of beautiful worship songs that are appropriate to sing with each other; in a folk and acoustic manner. Track 3 "We Will Follow" is a good example. I can just picture a group of people standing together in a house looking up to the sky and singing this song with passion. It just has that sort of feel to it.
There are no tracks that really lack from this album. There are a couple of standouts that just have to be mentioned here. One of them is the title track "Shelter". This track features tobyMac, new artist Audrey Assad and Brandon Heath. The vocals and harmonies are excellent as the guest artists and Dan Haseltine echo together, "In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live..." The only downside of this song is that the vocals of tobyMac are hardly noticeable, but his gentle "background noise" are still a great addition.
Another standout track is the first single "Out Of My Hands". This song features the familiar voice of Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North. The two sing in unison, "It's out of my hands..... you set me apart". They are singing in amazement of God's decision to choose us as his people.
The most aggressive track off the album would have to be "No Greater Love". Amazingly, this track doesn't feature any guest artists. This song is then placed in contrast with "Eyes Wide Open" (feat. Mac Powell, Derek Webb, Burlap to Cashmere) which has layed back folk/acoustic guitar strumming and clapping beats. Yes, Jars of Clay covers enough areas of sound to keep you hooked on the album's fishing rod without letting go.
The Shelter is an amazing forty-eight minutes of listening pleasure. I just adore the idea of reaching out the community around us who desperately need God's love, instead of containing ourselves inside a church building and singing without much purpose. This album never lets you down both lyrically and musically and that's what you can expect from Jars of Clay. You don't even have to think twice before buying this album because you won't be disappointed. Jars of Clay have once again pulled off another golden offering as they have done throughout their whole career. It is without a doubt that this is now the best album of the year so far. View All Music And Book Reviews By gizmodad | View gizmodad's Profile
|
