Search - Jars of Clay :: Live Monsters

Adequate Live Album with Some of the Best Songs the Band Has

Chip Webb | Fairfax Station, VA | 09/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Live Monsters is a low-priced EP from Jars of Clay that contains concert recordings of seven songs from the band's most recent studio album, Good Monsters. As such, this is not a typical live album: it does not survey any part of the band's career beyond that one album. However, since Good Monsters easily contains the band's best work to date, it gives listeners an idea of what to expect from Jars of Clay in full flight.



It's nice to see that Good Monsters' songs translate so well into concert settings. All of these songs, so powerful on the studio album, lose at most little of their luster here. Much credit must be given to lead singer Dan Haseltine, who effectively conveys vulnerability through an often raspy vocal delivery; truly frail songs lyrically are delivered with (undoubtedly mostly intentionally) frail vocal pipes. And when Haseltine wants to urge his listeners to action, he gives a song like "Light Gives Heat" an urgency that was lacking in the studio version (even if it loses a bit of its poignancy in the process). But the rest of the band, including the two non-official members, must be given credit as well. They give several songs a country/folk air; Jars of Clay's love for country and '70s folk pop have been evident since practically the beginning of their career. Drums are often displayed more prominently as well.



If there's some disappointment here, it's that despite the exceptions noted above, there are still relatively few musical variations from the studio versions. "Oh My God" becomes an extremely country-tinged lament live (far more so than in the original studio version), but it would have been nice to see this song expanded into a 10- or 11-minute epic. ("Oh My God" is also the one song in this live set where Haseltine fails to create a vocal delivery as strong as on the studio original.) There are other musical additions and changes throughout the album, but usually to little effect. (And the variations often come from music hidden in the mix on the album coming to the forefront. Much of it was there on Good Monsters, but it was more in the background.) It also would have been nice to see radio hits "Work" and "Dead Man (Carry Me)" expanded considerably.



The one happy exception to this trend is "Light Gives Heat." Without an African children's choir on hand to provide moving background vocals, Jars of Clay turn this song into a full-blown rock song. It sounds a little bit U2ish at times (the expanded concert versions of "Worlds Apart" have been much more U2ish), a tad countryish at times, and not much at all (beyond the basic melody) like the original studio version. It's worth the price of the album. It's also effectively drawn out an extra two minutes or so, with Haseltine calling his listeners to action on African issues. The enthusiastic vocal response from the crowd after Haseltine stops singing suggests that Jars of Clay has found its "'40,'" its ultimate concert closing song.



Even with the high mark of "Light Gives Heat," I'm very tempted to give this album three stars instead of four. But since these songs are literally among the best that Jars has to offer, that rating is too low. If you haven't yet heard the rest of them, buy Good Monsters. It's one of the best contemporary Christian albums ever made, and yet more evidence (as if any were ever lacking) that the band deserves mainstream success.



Postscript: This review concerns the nationally-released album that came out in September. There is an earlier recording with the same name that came out last spring and is available through the band's web site. This version contains two song variations: "All My Tears" and a little-known B-side called "Love Me" are present in place of "Good Monsters" and "Surprise." The live version of "All My Tears" is truly excellent and is considerably extended from the studio version on Good Monsters. "Love Me" is, of course, a treat for fans of the band. This version also seems to capture the crowd response at the concerts represented better. For all of these reasons, I give this earlier, limited release a better rating than the national one. I also recommend that if you only can purchase one of the two Live Monsters albums, get the one available (only?) through the band's web site, not the newer national release.



Final ratings: four stars for the earlier limited release (i.e., the one with "All My Tears" and "Love Me"); three-and-a-half stars for the national release (i.e., the one with "Good Monsters" and "Surprise")."

Great listening music

Lyn J. Oldham | 10/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I loved the CD. It is nice to listen to and there's a little pizzaz along with the mellow."