datraceman
Mini Monster
Registered:1284058505 Posts: 46
Posted 1398375110
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#1
So, I wanted to share a project I have had in the works for a few months now. I started a blog about listening to vinyl records. For a full explanation, check out the site http://thevinylreflective.com . The first record I reviewed: Jars of Clay - Much Afraid. Please feel free to comment and join in the conversation. My plan is to update it 1-2 times a week depending on my schedule. Thanks for reading!
haveapez
Seatbelt Tubist
Registered:1182615263 Posts: 204
Posted 1398698902
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#2
Sounds good. I love Jars and I love vinyl. I'll comments. Still waited too long to get The Log Fall on vinyl, so if anyone has a copy for sale...
murlough23
Ghost in the Moon
Registered:1070009094 Posts: 2,109
Posted 1398710568
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#3
I always enjoy reading a nostalgic review of a favorite album. While I'm not a true audiophile in the sense that I'm willing to settle for digital and don't want to fuss with vinyl, it sounds like the experience of hearing the layers of this album in a new way made your purchase more than worthwhile. A few random comments: I wouldn't say that the acoustic guitars are "gone" here, but the songs definitely don't have the characteristic "Jars of Clay strum" that we all would have expected based on what we loved about their first album at the time. I believe "Fade to Grey" was left off of the self-titled album because they ran out of time/money and couldn't record it at the time. They said something about this during the February StageIt show and I forgot specifically what they said. "Weighed Down" has never been one of my favorites, but since the chord progression was pretty much the same as "4:7", I figured they were intentionally subverting our expectations due to that song having a huge drum/guitar breakdown and this one being more... well, "weighed down". The thing I always remember about "Truce" is that weird disco breakdown they used to do in the middle of it (as heard on Stringtown ). I figured they were referencing some other song, but I didn't know what song specifically until a few months ago when I heard Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy", and I was like, "Oooooooooohhh, I get it now!" You gotta love 15-year-long delayed reactions. You're right about the end of the album needing a pacing adjustment. If they had left out "Truce" (or even worse, if they'd included "Fly Farther" - which is one of my favorite Jars songs, by the way), that might have tipped the scale to the point where the album felt too "slow" for alot of fans of their previous album to get into. It was a challenge as it was, with only three or four truly up-tempo or "rock" songs on the album. It's my favorite Jars album now, but my 18-year-old self took a lot more convincing. I love that you pay so much attention to the pacing of an album and the order of its songs. You're right that it's becoming a lost art. I was beginning to feel like I was one of the few folks who still paid attention to this, and who still listened to albums front to back, hardly ever skipping a song, here and now in this "digital age". I figure a good album is supposed to take you on a journey with a definite beginning and end point, and I appreciate when an artist is attentive enough to order their songs in such a fashion, rather than just front-loading it with potential singles and letting most of the back half be filler/B-side material, with no real though to the order other than "start with a few fast songs, close with a tear-jerking and/or unplugged 'See, I can play coffeehouse style too!'-type ballad."
__________________ DISCLAIMER: The preceding post was a statement of opinion, and does not reflect the views of the members of Jars of Clay, the moderators of Jarchives, or any member of the Holy Trinity. In fact, it is only my opinion that this is my opinion. In my opinion, you may choose to believe that my opinion is fact, if in fact you are of the opinion that you are allowed to choose what you believe, which presupposes the opinion that you do in fact exist in the first place - in my humble opinion, of course. It is my opinion that all of my opinions are humble opinions, but this does not indicate a bias on my part against opinions which are, in my opinion, proud opinions.
datraceman
Mini Monster
Registered:1284058505 Posts: 46
Posted 1398874475
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#4
Thanks for your thoughts on the album. I really think your comments added a lot to the discussion. I'm hoping to finish my next post and have it up tomorrow. It's not Jars of Clay, far from it actually. Nirvana's "In Utero" is up next. If you're wondering how I pick what record to listen and write about.....all of my records are inventoried in a spreadsheet and i hit the "random cell" selector and Microsoft tells me which one to use. LOL.
datraceman
Mini Monster
Registered:1284058505 Posts: 46
Posted 1399651133
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#5
Technically, this isn't Jars of Clay related but my new post on Nirvana's In Utero just went up live. Eventually I will get to Jars of Clay - Self Titled, Long Fall Back to Earth, and The Hawk in Paris. I am at the mercy of spreadsheet randomly picking what album comes next. So stay tuned. This project is something I am really excited about and it truly humbles me that I got a couple of dozen views from this message board. Thanks so much all of you!http://thevinylreflective.com
Daks
Ghost in the Moon
Registered:1068233327 Posts: 2,752
Posted 1400750988
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#6
It would be nice if you write a review for Inland Vinyl.
haveapez
Seatbelt Tubist
Registered:1182615263 Posts: 204
Posted 1402942985
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#7
Quote:
Originally Posted by
datraceman Technically, this isn't Jars of Clay related but my new post on Nirvana's In Utero just went up live.
Eventually I will get to Jars of Clay - Self Titled, Long Fall Back to Earth, and The Hawk in Paris.
I am at the mercy of spreadsheet randomly picking what album comes next. So stay tuned.
This project is something I am really excited about and it truly humbles me that I got a couple of dozen views from this message board. Thanks so much all of you!
http://thevinylreflective.com Thanks for the review. I enjoyed SOME Nirvana back in my teens. You mentioned Nirvana Unplugged and buying it. That has "Jesus doesn't want me for a Sunbeam" on it. That is the total opposite of Jars. SHAME ON YOU!
datraceman
Mini Monster
Registered:1284058505 Posts: 46
Posted 1402951670
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#8
Ha! Yeah, I know. I have a few more that are written but my wife and I just bought our first house so my free time to put my notes into coherent thought disappeared. I'm hoping in another week or two I'll be back at it.
forn03
Seatbelt Tubist
Registered:1089258625 Posts: 309
Posted 1408669251
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#9
Sorry to be "that guy" bumping an old post, but I had to say this since you guys were talking about the sequencing of Much Afraid. I have a playlist in iTunes of the tracklisting one of the prereleases had that goes like this: 1. Crazy Times 2. Fade to Grey 3. Five Candles (You Were There) 4. Tea and Sympathy 5. Weighed Down 6. Truce 7. Overjoyed 8. Frail 9. Portrait of an Apology 10. Much Afraid 11. Hymn I don't know if it was intentionally jumbled to put the songs they expected to be singles to listeners ears first, anticipating that the reviewer or whoever received it wouldn't give it the proper front-to-back treatment or what, but listen in that order sometime. It's very jarring.
murlough23
Ghost in the Moon
Registered:1070009094 Posts: 2,109
Posted 1408669505
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#10
Quote:
Originally Posted by forn03 It's very jarring.
You don't say.
__________________ DISCLAIMER: The preceding post was a statement of opinion, and does not reflect the views of the members of Jars of Clay, the moderators of Jarchives, or any member of the Holy Trinity. In fact, it is only my opinion that this is my opinion. In my opinion, you may choose to believe that my opinion is fact, if in fact you are of the opinion that you are allowed to choose what you believe, which presupposes the opinion that you do in fact exist in the first place - in my humble opinion, of course. It is my opinion that all of my opinions are humble opinions, but this does not indicate a bias on my part against opinions which are, in my opinion, proud opinions.
forn03
Seatbelt Tubist
Registered:1089258625 Posts: 309
Posted 1408669950
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#11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
murlough23 Quote:
Originally Posted by forn03 It's very jarring.
You don't say.
That was not intended as a pun and now I hate myself.
murlough23
Ghost in the Moon
Registered:1070009094 Posts: 2,109
Posted 1408670056
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#12
Quote:
Originally Posted by forn03 That was not intended as a pun and now I hate myself.
I did the exact same thing a few weeks back when describing my reaction to the new version of "God Will Lift Up Your Head".
__________________ DISCLAIMER: The preceding post was a statement of opinion, and does not reflect the views of the members of Jars of Clay, the moderators of Jarchives, or any member of the Holy Trinity. In fact, it is only my opinion that this is my opinion. In my opinion, you may choose to believe that my opinion is fact, if in fact you are of the opinion that you are allowed to choose what you believe, which presupposes the opinion that you do in fact exist in the first place - in my humble opinion, of course. It is my opinion that all of my opinions are humble opinions, but this does not indicate a bias on my part against opinions which are, in my opinion, proud opinions.
MikeHarvat
Moderator
Registered:1069977131 Posts: 1,400
Posted 1408677079
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#13
Lol I was wondering if this was the same thread...