The Long Fall Back To Earth by Jars Of Clay (CD, Apr-2009, Essential Records USA)

With an hour (59.33 min) of ‘80s-inspired’ (?) but totally original sound, Jars of Clay (J.O.C.) delivers lyrics that explore day-to-day experiences of beauty, the tension of relationships, real-life issues & why they're worth fighting for!

If you take J.O.C.’s “Christmas Songs” & “Good Monsters” albums, blend them together, you’d have some idea of what to expect from “The Long Fall Back To Earth”... but you wouldn’t have the whole picture! I feel there are some real treasures to be found in this latest release. “Two Hands”, “Weapons” & “Hero” are just some of my new-found favorites! Unlike most bands where one has to be satisfied with possibly 3 good tracks & an otherwise uninteresting album; J.O.C. consistently produce albums FULL of great songs. From the first play these songs are very catchy but also complex enough to reveal new musical subtitles every time you take a listen. I love the ability they have to never completely produce the same sound... & would we really be satisfied with them if they did?

I’m personally tired of hearing that the lyrics aren’t deep or that the album is not Christian enough. My response to that is: “Since when are the concepts in these songs not Christian? “Two Hands” is about overcoming your sin nature to become wholly committed to Christ’s will & how much more you could get done if you weren’t fighting with yourself. “Closer” is about going deeper in relationships with one another ("Love one another as I have loved you") & “Boys (Lesson One)” is about a father giving his son advice. Just because they don’t copycat other praise & worship bands or insert "Jesus" into every song doesn’t make their albums less Christian.

If you are a fan of J.O.C. pre-Good Monsters, buy with caution. But if you like seeing J.O.C. evolve into a better band (if that’s even possible)... go for it, I did & I haven’t been disappointed yet! I have all their CDs & enjoy everyone of them! I give “The Long Fall Back To Earth” 5 out of 5 stars, 2 thumbs way up!

The 14 tracks on this album are:
1. “The Long Fall”/ 2. “Weapons”/ 3. “Two Hands”/ 4. “Heaven”/ 5. “Closer”
6. “Safe To Land”/ 7. “Headphones”/ 8. “Don’t Stop”/ 9. “Boys (Lesson One)”
10. “Hero”/ 11. “Scenic Route”/ 12. “There Might Be a Light”/ 13. “Forgive Me”
14. “Heart”

Best of the 80's sound with modern producing skills. I love this album. SO do my 5-year old twins. The intro song was so awesome; the only problem with it is that it didn't go on for 10 minutes! Although, they way they led into the 2nd track was very clever. OF course, Two Hands is such a great song - the imagery effective. CLOSER was my favorite. Such interesting and original metaphors. Very sweet song. I dedicate it to my sweet husband!

Jars of Clay is doing better and better music with time !!! Perfect !!! My favorites: closer, safe to land, boys and heart !!!

I loved Jars of Clay older albums so I was excited to hear some of their new music but was greatly disappointed. Each song basically was a repeeat of 1-2 phrases, over and over and over.

The Long Fall Back To Earth by Jars Of Clay (CD, Apr-2009, Essential Records USA)

It was interesting enough to compare musical preferences in Russia and in the USA.
At us in Russia such music sounds seldom, the first tracks especially were pleasant. Pleasantly enough obeys in the car on the way to work. In my opinion reminds music specially written under broadcasting.