Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Good Monsters

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Released
  
September 5, 2006

Length
  
50:32

Artist
  
Jars of Clay

Producer
  
Jars of Clay

Genre
  
Rock music

Recorded
  
March–May 2006

Good Monsters (2006)
  
Live Monsters (2007)

Release date
  
5 September 2006

Label
  
Essential Records

Good Monsters httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaencc6Goo

Similar
  
Jars of Clay albums, Rock music albums

Jars of clay good monsters lyrics


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").

Contents

"Dead Man (Carry Me)", the first single from the album, was released to radio stations on June 23, 2006. "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.

Jars of clay 2 dead man good monsters 2006


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."

Honors

  • CCM Magazine named Good Monsters "Album of the Year", shortly after its September release, unusually early for such a distinction. According to editor Jay Swartzendruber, "Jars of Clay's new record is the landmark album of 2006. Consider that all six members of CCM's editorial team agree that choosing Good Monsters as our 'Album of the Year' is a no-brainer. In fact, it's an understatement. Practically all of us would say this is the most profound album the Christian music community has released in years."
  • Good Monsters was Christianity Today's No. 1 album of 2006, and ranked No. 5 of New Release Tuesday's top 10 albums of 2006.
  • 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.
  • Peaked at No. 58 on the billboard 200, selling over 15,000 copies 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.

    Songs

    1Work3:54
    2Dead Man (Carry Me)3:20
    3All My Tears3:45

    References

    Good Monsters Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA