Good Monsters

Good Monsters is the seventh full-length studio album from Jars of Clay, released by Essential Records on September 5, 2006. This is their last album of new material from Essential Records and it is said to be lyrically their most aggressive album to date. It features eleven original songs, and a remake of "All My Tears" by Julie Miller. It also features guest appearances by singer/songwriter Kate York (on "Even Angels Cry"), Leigh Nash, of Sixpence None the Richer (on "Mirrors & Smoke"), and the African Children's Choir (on "Light Gives Heat").

Good Monsters
Studio album by
Jars of Clay
ReleasedSeptember 5, 2006
RecordedMarch–May 2006
GenreRock
Length50:32
LabelEssential Records
ProducerJars of Clay
Jars of Clay chronology
Mini Monsters
(2006)		 Good Monsters
(2006)		 Live Monsters
(2007)
Singles from
Good Monsters
  1. "Dead Man (Carry Me)"
    Released: June 23, 2006
  2. "Work"
    Released: November 2006
  3. "Good Monsters"
    Released: N/A (Note: Only video single)
  4. "There Is a River"
    Released: April 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
CCM MagazineA+[2]
Christianity Today[3]
Cross Rhythms[4]
Jesus Freak Hideout[5]
Patrol Magazine(7.4/10)[6]
Soul Shine Magazine[7]

"Dead Man (Carry Me)", the first single from the album, was released to radio stations on June 23, 2006.[8] "Work" was released as the second single, along with its music video, in late August. The band also released a music video for the album track "Good Monsters". In the September 2006 edition of CCM Magazine, the band credited fellow artist Ashley Cleveland with inspiring the improvisational sound of the album.

In an editor's fall albums overview in CCM Magazine, Good Monsters was called, "the album that Jars of Clay will be remembered for." It ended up taking the award for the CCM Magazine staff picks as album of the year, winning four out of the five spaces.

Overview

Concerning the album's title and themes, Dan Haseltine explains, "I was not sure how all of the experiences of the last few years would translate into music. There have been so many things to look at and describe. This record is part confessional, part euphoric love poem, bitter separation and part benediction. It was born out of many experiences and conversations between addicts, failures, lovers, loners, believers, and beggars. And so the language of recovery and the honest discourse about our attempts to live apart from God and apart from each other is a theme. Engaging people who are doing the hard work of laying their lives open to others, and avoiding isolation, has allowed me to see that there is both immeasurable evil and unfathomable good mixing under my own skin and it is grace, mercy and freedom that allow me to not simply be a monster, but to be a good monster."[8]

Honors
  • CCM Magazine named Good Monsters its Album of the Year shortly after its September release, unusually early for such a distinction. Editor Jay Swartzendruber declared it "the landmark album of 2006." He noted that all six members of CCM's editorial team agreed on the selection and that it was "the most profound album the Christian music community has released in years."[9]
  • Good Monsters was Christianity Today's No. 1 album of 2006,[10] and ranked No. 5 of New Release Tuesday's top 10 albums of 2006.[11]
  • Good Monsters won the Best Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007 held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
  • The album peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard 200. More than 15,000 copies were sold in its first week.

Track listing

Note: All songs written by Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, and Matt Odmark unless otherwise noted

Standard release
  1. "Work" – 3:53
  2. "Dead Man (Carry Me)" – 3:20
  3. "All My Tears" (Julie Miller) – 3:45
  4. "Even Angels Cry" – 4:22
  5. "There Is a River" (Haseltine, Lowell, Mason, Odmark, Ron Aniello) – 3:51
  6. "Good Monsters" – 4:05
  7. "Oh My God" – 6:06
  8. "Surprise" – 3:50
  9. "Take Me Higher" (Haseltine, Lowell, Mason, Odmark, Aniello) – 4:40
  10. "Mirrors & Smoke" – 3:58
  11. "Light Gives Heat" – 4:42
  12. "Water Under The Bridge" (Haseltine, Lowell, Mason, Odmark, Aniello) – 3:58

iTunes Pre-release track listing
  1. "Work" – 3:53
  2. "Dead Man (Carry Me)" – 3:20
  3. "All My Tears" – 3:45
  4. "Even Angels Cry" – 4:22
  5. "There Is a River" – 3:51
  6. "Good Monsters" – 4:05
  7. "Oh My God" – 6:06
  8. "Surprise" – 3:50
  9. "Take Me Higher" – 4:40
  10. "Mirrors & Smoke" – 3:58
  11. "Light Gives Heat" – 4:42
  12. "Water Under The Bridge" – 3:58
  13. "Work" (Acoustic Version) – 3:36

Personnel
  • Jars of Clay – primary artist, producer, art direction
  • Leigh Nash – guest vocals
  • Ashley Cleveland – guest vocals
  • Rosemary Butler – guest vocals
  • Kim Fleming – guest vocals
  • Kate York – guest vocals
  • John Catchings – cello
  • Kris Wilkinson – viola
  • Jennifer Kummer – French horn
  • Ned Henry – violin
  • Aaron Sands – bass guitar
  • Jeremy Lutito – drums
  • Richard Dodd – mastering
  • Jars of Clay –
  • Terry Hemmings – executive producer
  • Christopher Davis – horn arrangements, string arrangements
  • Tim Parker – art direction
  • Mitch Dane – engineer
  • Jonathan Richter – art direction, cover design

Use in media

The track "Good Monsters" was featured on the pilot episode of Eli Stone.

Notes
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Newcomb, Brian Quincy (September 1, 2006). "In Review: Jars of Clay: Good Monsters (Essential/Sony/BMG)" (PDF). CCM Magazine. Salem Publishing. p. 47. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  3. Christianity Today review
  4. Cross Rhythms review
  5. Jesus Freak Hideout review
  6. Patrol Magazine review
  7. Soulshine review
  8. Jesus Freak Hideout – News from June 2006
  9. Wilson Promotions rates Good Monsters as its Album of the Year.
  10. Christianity Today rates Good Monsters as No. 1 album of 2006.
  11. New Release Tuesday ranks Good Monsters as No. 5 in its Top Ten albums of 2006.
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