| | Jars Of Clay Good Monsters CD Jars Of Clay Discography of CDs
 (4 Customer Reviews)
The evolution to a pure rock sound on Jars of Clay's seventh studio album, Good Monsters, is not a far cry from traces of alternative rock that surface on nearly all of their recordings in one degree or another. Fans accurately predicted a return to a harder-edged rock outing after the band's three previous efforts -- 2003's Furthermore and Who We Are Instead, as well as 2005's Redemption Songs -- leaned primarily toward a stripped-down folk sound. Monsters stretches the four-piece band past any set of expectations and results in its boldest effort to date. Known for introspection and openness, their lyrics this time around offer no singular message other than an unapologetic admittance that they don't have all the answers. Songs bounce from haunting to lilting, pensive to provoking, ultimately creating a set list that is cohesive only in its self-examination. Among the many standouts, the jarring opener, "Work," manifests within seconds that acoustic guitars have been set aside in lieu of a more raw, glaring sound. "Dead Man (Carry Me)" gets going with a jangly guitar riff and heavy beats resembling secular contemporaries the Killers. "There Is a River" finds its place among the band's greatest, taking an Americana drive à la Counting Crows' "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" or Ingram Hill's "The Captain." "Mirrors & Smoke" features a duet between lead vocalist Dan Haseltine and ex-Sixpence None the Richer frontwoman Leigh Nash. The bandmembers continue to bear sonic ode to Toad the Wet Sprocket and U2 on this record, but they draw upon enough of their own trademark sound that only isolated moments would evoke comparisons to the latter's mid-decade classic How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Good Monsters doesn't aim for arena rock, but it remains well-crafted and vulnerable at the core. Jars of Clay bear the cross of being compared to their self-titled debut with every following record. Good Monsters is a departure from that debut, but assuredly a welcome one that yet again demonstrates the band's depth and talent. ~ Jared Johnson
Audio Mixer: Chris Lord-Alge.
Recording information: Blackbird; Sputnik Sound.
Jars of Clay: Dan Haseltine , Matt Odmark, Stephen Mason, Charlie Lowell.
Personnel: Kate York, Leigh Nash, Rosemary Butler, Ashley Cleveland, Kim Fleming (vocals); Ned Henry (violin); Kris Wilkinson (viola); John Catchings (cello); Jennifer Kummer (French horn); Jeremy Lutito (drums).
Good Monsters Music | List Price | $17.98 (You save $4.49) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, Pop CDs, Gospel, Christian, Contemporary Christian Music, Rock | | Label | Essential | | Orig Year | 2006 | | All Time Sales Rank |  63535  | | CD Universe Part number | 7268170 | | Catalog number | 10820 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Sep 05, 2006 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | Jars Of Clay; Jars Of Clay | | Engineer | Mitch Dane | | Personnel | John Catchings, Jennifer Kummer, Rosemary Butler, Kris Wilkinson, Kim Fleming, Ashley Cleveland, Leigh Nash, Jeremy Lutito, Charlie Lowell, Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark, Ned Henry, Stephen Mason |
Jars Of Clay Good Monsters Songs Good Monsters Music Review Purchase Good Monsters CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk DVD (1992)
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| | Axel Rudi Pell Mystica CD (2006)
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Yet another album by German guitar superstar Axel Rudi Pell, Mystica delivers...well, pretty much what every previous Axel Rudi Pell album has delivered. Pell is comfortable enough with his impressive chops that he doesn't have to do the whole God of the Fretboard routine that so many European metal guitarists are saddled with, so his albums are refreshingly light on the pyrotechnics. He does have a fondness for the pretentiously titled instrumental, however, so here listeners have "Haunted Castle Serenade (Opus #4 Grazioso e Aggresso)" and "The Mysterious Return (Intro)." Otherwise, this is utterly straightforward, by the book melodic hard rock in the '80s poodle-hair style, complete with former Hardline singer Johnny Gioeli's pleasant but utterly anonymous vocals. If you ...
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| | Robin Ella Solace For The Lonely CD (2006)
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Robinella & the CC String Band rippled the pond in 2003 with her band's self-titled Columbia debut. It offered the sound of a band of crack musicians fronted by a singer whose voice was chameleon-like in its ability to evoke country, bluegrass, pop, and jazz frameworks with sultry seductiveness, murky as smoke and yet alternately clear as water and fresh as the morning. The album showed promise, and delivered. Columbia was hoping for something akin to Alison Krauss' success. It didn't happen. This time out, Robinella Contreras shows up on the adventurous Dualtone label. She still has the CC String Band (named after her husband, Cruz Contreras), but only her name appears on the label. For those who were charmed by the last recording's flirtation with pop as it rooted itself in traditional country and bluegrass structures, this will come as a bit of a shock. For those uninitiated, Solace for the Lonely is a breath of clean sweet air. This is a pop record. Period. It's mature, sophisticated, elegant, heartbreakingly lovely, and poetic. There are songs about sex, spirituality, and love both pure and impure, and Jesus himself is called upon with confidence and joy. Country and bluegrass elements are everywhere present, but more as references than sources. What Robinella and Cruz -- who plays mandolin, Fender Rhodes, guitar, and piano -- have come up with is the recording they've been striving to make since their first album went to tape. Thanks to producer Doug Lancio (who understands balance and how to make anything sound like it was recorded in the living room), fiddles, acoustic guitars, upright bass, drums, and percussion keep the set from wandering too far afield from the roots. No matter what's happening, the feel is that this music is made from the ground up, with its roots firmly placed in Southern soil. "Press On" could have been produced by Daniel Lanois. A meditation on death and redemption, its whispering keyboards, muted tom-toms, sparse piano, and electric guitars underscore the poignancy in Robinella's lyric. The very next cut, "Down the Mountain," a modern spiritual, is a country tune defined by Cruz's mandolin, fiddle, and slowly strolling electric guitars. "Come Back My Way" is another melodic country tune. Other musics make their way here as well, as in "Little Boy" with its funky drums, wah-wah guitar, and chunky Rhodes and synth. Robinella's understated yet confident voice -- like some cross between Billie Holiday, Minnie Riperton, and Annette Peacock -- rises to the occasion and ...
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