If I Left the Zoo

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Jars of Clay admirably stretched the boundaries of Christian pop music when their self-titled debut scaled the charts in 1995. Two releases later, the group's peculiar yet appealing brand of alt-acoustic-Christpop remains a study in irony: relatively simple on the outside, brooding and introspective on the inside. If I Left the Zoo returns to form with a renewed focus on songwriting; the disc is a stripped-down and more organic effort than the richly layered but equally rewarding Much Afraid (1997). The opening song "Goodbye, Goodnight," with its lighthearted accordion and mandolin, quickly sets the tone. While the tune itself is a sprightly sing-along, lyrically the Jars hit you with end-of-the-millennium social commentary ("Raise a glass for ignorance / drink a toast to fear / The beginning of the end has come / that's why we all are here"). The oddly attractive "Unforgetful You," the bittersweet "Famous Last Words," and the melodic rocker "Can't Erase It" are sure-fire radio hits. While the playful, digestible quality of the band's music is undeniable, they've become equally effective as songwriters for a generation. --Michael Lyttle

Tracks:

Goodbye, Goodnight
Unforgetful You
Collide
No One Loves Me Like You
Famous Last Words
Sad Clown
Hand
I'm Alright
Grace
Can't Erase It
River Constantine

Amazon.com

Jars of Clay admirably stretched the boundaries of Christian pop music when their self-titled debut scaled the charts in 1995. Two releases later, the group's peculiar yet appealing brand of alt-acoustic-Christpop remains a study in irony: relatively simple on the outside, brooding and introspective on the inside. If I Left the Zoo returns to form with a renewed focus on songwriting; the disc is a stripped-down and more organic effort than the richly layered but equally rewarding Much Afraid (1997). The opening song "Goodbye, Goodnight," with its lighthearted accordion and mandolin, quickly sets the tone. While the tune itself is a sprightly sing-along, lyrically the Jars hit you with end-of-the-millennium social commentary ("Raise a glass for ignorance / drink a toast to fear / The beginning of the end has come / that's why we all are here"). The oddly attractive "Unforgetful You," the bittersweet "Famous Last Words," and the melodic rocker "Can't Erase It" are sure-fire radio hits. While the playful, digestible quality of the band's music is undeniable, they've become equally effective as songwriters for a generation. --Michael Lyttle

Customer Reviews:

Good Cool Down Music.......2005-06-27

Being an athiest, I always had a love for bluegrass, and folk music. This cd, while not fitting in either genre, and more into alternative rock, I found I was more than pleased to play the CD, while yes this CD is of course, christian, I found I can put many of the songs on this one (and their debut album), onto a secular stand point.

This CD Rocks!.......2005-01-08

I love this CD. My favorites are "No One Loves Me Like You Do" and "Hand". I enjoy all of Jars of Clays' albums. This one is well-done and musically it's superb.

First Exposure!!.......2004-11-13

I loved it. This was my first exposure to new "Christian Rock/Altenrative" whatever you want to call it. Other than Stryper from and Petra from the 80's, I had never heard any "Christian" music.

Anyway, I picked this up about 2 1/2 years ago and couldn't get enough. So, I bought "Much Afraid" and didn't like it as much. Different type of music. It's interesting to see how a group can have such different sytles in a 2 year period. I haven't picked up any other works of theirs since, but I plan to. I guess I'm "Much Afraid" that I won't like it as much as the "Zoo"!!

I recommend this album to anyone that loves music and God!

Experimenting Jars.......2004-09-02

Why is this band not known at all outside the USA? All the albums have hits and all of them would fit perfectly to european radio. Hmmm....it happened to P.O.D., so why not Jars of Clay. Is Europe really just a totally closed market for christian music? We certainly need a change!
Anyway, this is a review, so let's get to it.
I have been a big fan of Jars of Clay for more than 5 years now, and like the way the band has evolved, I feel like I have grown with the music.
I wasn't really too fond of The Zoo until a couple of years after it's release. I guess I was looking for something like Much afraid, and this album was just too different for me. I did not appreciate the experimentation and quirkyness, but still liked songs such as Goodbye goodnight, Collide, No one loves me like you and River Constantine. Very slowly I found out that If I left the zoo was just the "happier" side of Jars of Clay and today I love it. The acoustic sound, the strange synthesizers and all the funny extra details in the background are great and like most other Jars albums I listen to it over and over. One very important detail about The Zoo is that this album made me finally fall in love with Dan Haseltines voice.
The reason why I "only" give 4 stars for this album, is that I still prefer Much afraid, The eleventh hour and Who We are instead just a little bit more.

My favourites are:

1. Goodbye, goodnight - Very ironic lyrics and a whole lot of good old Beatles-atmospheare with the strings and vocals.

3. Collide - A great rock-song with crunchy guitars and soaring mellotron-strings. The chorus sticks to your brain after just one listen-

4. No one loves me like you - A bluegrass-inspired ballad with pump-organ, mandolin and strong sweet vocals. The lyrics talks about how love can be the most wonderful thing, and how it can also hurt.

6. Sad Clown - Very slow piano-driven ballad with a lot of Beatles-influence. Dans voice reaches new heights on this one.

9. Grace - This song is about God's everlasting grace that always makes us return when we have turned our back on Him. Musically it is very good folk-rock driven by a mix of guitar and accordion.

10. Can't erase it - it's just a strong country-rock song with great lyrics and vocals.

11. River Constantine - A beautiful, somewhat mysterious ballad about letting the holy spirit take over. In the chorus, Dans vocals gives me shivers.

AWESOME!.......2004-07-14

This is a CREATIVE Christian band...So many other Christian Bands attempt to take a secular group's style and make it Christian, to attract secular listeners. Jars of Clay can attract any crowd, Christian or non-Christian because of their unique sound and creative lyrics. This CD is one of my favorites...all of their CD's are awesome but this one really speaks to you...the lyrics are deep and poetic. No clichés here. At times their sound goes from Jazz to pop and from Rock to Blue Grass / Gospel... Their great vocal harmony gives them a professional polish. In addition to vocal talent, this band mixes all sorts of untraditional instruments with traditional rock instruments...They successfully blend accordions, toy pianos, organs with drums and guitars...Their sound is fresh and their spiritual music reaches out to you... They're awesome.

Average customer rating:

If I Left the Zoo + Bonus Vcd
Jars of Clay
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Christian Rock | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

General | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

Christian Contemporary Music | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005QE0W

Album Description

1999 album coupled with a bonus video CD of all their music videos, 'Unforgetful You', 'Flood' (remix), 'Five Candles' & 'Crazy Times'.

Music:

Music

Music