If I Left the Zoo (1999)
Updated: Sep 17
If I Left the Zoo is the third studio album by the American rock band Jars of Clay, released on November 9, 1999 by Essential Records/Provident Music Group and Silvertone/Jive Records. The album was produced by Dennis Herring. Herring has produced albums by Elvis Costello, Counting Crows and The Hives among others.
If I Left the Zoo brought about another stylistic shift, away from the lush sound of Much Afraid and into more of a raw and quirky pop/rock sound with occasional folk overtones. Keyboard player Charlie Lowell was featured much more prominently on this album, as well as the other band members and additional musicians. Due to the influence of producer Dennis Herring and drummer Ben Mize, this album had more of a Counting Crows influence. Ironically, Counting Crow's third album This Desert Life, in which Herring co-produced, was released one week before Jars of Clay released If I Left the Zoo.
The band found a picture in a stock book of an elephant whom they have affectionately named 'Agnes.' They bought the picture for the album cover and then had to come up with a title. Before landing on the name If I Left the Zoo, the band tried working the titles Already, Not Yet and If I Ran the Zoo for the album. However, the latter title ran into copyright issues with a Dr. Seuss title of the same name. The album produced several Christian radio singles, most notably "Unforgetful You," which also appeared in the soundtrack to the 1999 film Drive Me Crazy. While "Unforgetful You" was another No. 1 hit on the Christian CHR chart, it only peaked in the Top 40 at No. 40 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart
(later renamed Adult Pop Airplay).
The track "Hand" peaked at No. 9 on the Christian AC chart. "Collide" topped the Christian CHR and peaked at No. 9 on the Christian Rock chart. If I Left the Zoo debuted and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums for one week while peaking at No. 44 on the Billboard 200. The album was not as big a seller as their first two albums were, but nevertheless, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of half a million copies.
In 2000, Jars of Clay picked up Dove Award nominations for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year and Modern Rock/Alternative Recorded Song of the Year for "Unforgetful You." A year later, Jars of Clay won their second Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards and at the Dove Awards, "Collide" was nominated for Modern Rock/Alternative Recorded Song of the Year.
NOTE: the track "Headstrong," which appears on the 2000 various artists project Roaring Lambs, is an outtake from the If I Left the Zoo recording session. The song was set to be released on If I Left the Zoo since it appeared as the album's eleventh track on several internet sites before its release. The version that appears on Roaring Lambs is the version that would have made the album cut as it was also produced by Dennis Herring. The demo version of "Headstrong" appears on the rarities release The White Elephant Sessions.
Track listing
All songs written by Jars of Clay, except where noted.
1. Goodbye, Goodnight -2:54
2. Unforgetful You -3:21
3. Collide -4:45
4. No One Loves Me Like You -3:49
5. Famous Last Words -3:26
6. Sad Clown -4:28
7. Hand (Dan Haseltine, Stephen Mason, Jonathan Noël) -3:37
8. I'm Alright -3:41
9. Grace (Jars of Clay, Greg Wells, Mark Hudson) -4:32
10. Can't Erase It -3:34
11. River Constantine -4:53
Personnel
Jars of Clay:
Dan Haseltine -lead vocals, percussion (tracks 2, 8, 10 and 11), loops (tracks 2, 3
and 10), handclaps (tracks 4 and 8), backing vocals on track 2, toy piano on
track 5, drums on track 10
Charlie Lowell -acoustic piano (tracks 5, 6, 10 and 11), Wurlitzer electric piano
(tracks 3, 5 and 8), accordion (tracks 1, 2 and 9), backing vocals (tracks 1 -7, 9 -
11), Vox Jaguar organ (tracks 2 and 8), Mellotron (tracks 3 and 5), pump organ on
track 4, toy piano on track 6, percussion on track 10, strings on track 11
Stephen Mason -electric guitars (tracks 2 -11), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5 -7),
backing vocals (tracks 1 -7, 9 -11), Casio synthesizers on track 2, handclaps on
track 2, car horn sounds on track 3, lap steel guitar on track 9, percussion on
track 10
Matt Odmark -acoustic guitar (tracks 2 -5, 7 -11), handclaps (tracks 2 and 8),
percussion (tracks 10 and 11), electric guitar on track 1, backing vocals on track
2, lab technician on track 5
additional musicians:
Dennis Herring -handclaps (tracks 2 and 8), acoustic guitar on track 4, guitar
stylings on track 7
Clay Jones -acoustic guitar on track 4, mandolin on track 4
Ben Egan -lap steel guitar on track 6
Aaron Sands -bass guitar (tracks 2 -11), percussion on track 10
Ben Mize -drums (tracks 1, 2, 4 -11), percussion (tracks 1, 8 and 10), minute timer
sounds on track 5
Joe Porter -drums on track 3
David Henry -cello on track 1
Ned Henry -violin on track 1
Jonathan Noël – backing vocals on track 7
Oxford Coffee Choir -backing vocals on track 1
The Darwin Hobbs Gospel Choir -backing vocals on track 8
RIAA certifications
Gold certified in 2000.
Accolades
Grammy Award -Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album (If I Left the Zoo)
Radio singles
1999 -2000 "Unforgetful You" -#1 Christian CHR for 5 weeks, -#40 Billboard Adult
Top 40
1999 -2000 "Hand" -#9 Christian AC
2000 "Collide" -#1 Christian CHR for 2 weeks
2000 "I'm Alright" -#2 Christian CHR
2001 "Can't Erase It" -#6 Christian CHR
Previous release: Front Yard Luge (Live EP) (1999)
Next release: The White Elephant Sessions (2000) (rarities album)
Watch the music video of "Unforgetful You" here:
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