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If I Left the Zoo
a review by Tim
While I really anticipated the release of Much Afraid, when it came to the release of If I Left the Zoo it was the exact opposite. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it at all. Previously when I would buy the next album by a band/artist I like sometimes I would find I didn't care for the new album. For the most part, I have been lucky as this has been a rarity for me. But with the release of this album it was a whole new territory on whether or not I liked it.
Originally the Jars wanted to call the album "lf I Ran the Zoo". It is the name of a Dr. Seuss book. Unfortunately they couldn't get the rights to use it. This is fine with me since I find the current name to be just as good what they had originally wanted. As with the previous album, the Jars choose to have someone else produce it. This producer took a different approach, which emphasized more on creativity verses audio perfection. This allowed them to grow in every way possible but still be true themselves. Some of the songs that found its way on this album were actually written during the recording sessions of Much Afraid. One of those songs is “Noone Loves Me like You do”. It wasn't included on Much Afraid because it didn't fit the style of the album. Originally the guys called it the “Hoover” song because it came out sounding like a Hoover vacuum cleaner commercial. It was rerecorded for this album.
For me the strongest part of If I Left the Zoo is as the creativity on this album. It is some of the best ever on a Jars of Clay album because they used a variety of sounds on it. They ranged from an accordion and barbershop type vocals, to a futuristic type sound, to even the use of toy piano in one of their songs. Originally when writing this review the only complaint I had about the album was I thought in general the songs were too slow. But after listening to it several times while writing this I find it to be a misperception. So I guess my complaint is that most of the songs don’t necessarily seem memorable.
On this album my two favorite songs are “Collide” and “No One Loves Me like You Do”. I like “Collide” because I find it absolutely amazing. The only way I can describe it as a futuristic rock song. I like “Noone Loves Me like You do” because of the lyrics. After hearing Dan explain the song one time in concert the lyrics the make sense.
While I really anticipated the release of Much Afraid, when it came to the release of If I Left the Zoo it was the exact opposite. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it at all. Previously when I would buy the next album by a band/artist I like sometimes I would find I didn't care for the new album. For the most part, I have been lucky as this has been a rarity for me. But with the release of this album it was a whole new territory on whether or not I liked it.
Originally the Jars wanted to call the album "lf I Ran the Zoo". It is the name of a Dr. Seuss book. Unfortunately they couldn't get the rights to use it. This is fine with me since I find the current name to be just as good what they had originally wanted. As with the previous album, the Jars choose to have someone else produce it. This producer took a different approach, which emphasized more on creativity verses audio perfection. This allowed them to grow in every way possible but still be true themselves. Some of the songs that found its way on this album were actually written during the recording sessions of Much Afraid. One of those songs is “Noone Loves Me like You do”. It wasn't included on Much Afraid because it didn't fit the style of the album. Originally the guys called it the “Hoover” song because it came out sounding like a Hoover vacuum cleaner commercial. It was rerecorded for this album.
For me the strongest part of If I Left the Zoo is as the creativity on this album. It is some of the best ever on a Jars of Clay album because they used a variety of sounds on it. They ranged from an accordion and barbershop type vocals, to a futuristic type sound, to even the use of toy piano in one of their songs. Originally when writing this review the only complaint I had about the album was I thought in general the songs were too slow. But after listening to it several times while writing this I find it to be a misperception. So I guess my complaint is that most of the songs don’t necessarily seem memorable.
On this album my two favorite songs are “Collide” and “No One Loves Me like You Do”. I like “Collide” because I find it absolutely amazing. The only way I can describe it as a futuristic rock song. I like “Noone Loves Me like You do” because of the lyrics. After hearing Dan explain the song one time in concert the lyrics the make sense.
