The Eleventh Hour (2002)
The Eleventh Hour (stylized as theleventhour) is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Jars of Clay, released on March 5, 2002 by Essential Records/
Provident Music Group and Silvertone Records.
Jars of Clay returns with their first new album in two and a half years following up their previous release If I Left the Zoo. When writing the group's fourth album, Jars of Clay enlisted Dennis Herring, who produced the band's If I Left the Zoo album, to produce, but due to scheduling difficulties, Herring decided to pull out of the project, and the band produced The Eleventh Hour themselves. It was their first album they had produced themselves since their 1995 self-titled debut album. To accomplish this, the band members actually built their own recording space in Nashville, Tennessee called Sputnik Studios, where they handled the writing, performing, and production duties from start to finish. The album cover of The Eleventh Hour is a photograph of Seattle taken by lead singer Dan Haseltine from a hotel window looking down the Pike Place Market. All of the artwork was created jointly by the band, as the group wanted to put together an album that they had created, after being prompted to produce the album with the departure of Herring from the producer position before pre-production had begun.
The band stated that they took the same songwriting approach for "I Need You" as they did with "Love Song For a Savior" from Jars of Clay. However, the music for "I Need You" was actually written during the If I Left the Zoo sessions. "Fly" is based on the story of a couple fighting a losing battle against the wife's cancer. Specifically, it is about the moment at which her husband "lets her go." The unnamed couple were friends or close acquaintances of the band members. Both "I Need You" and "Fly" were No. 1 Christian CHR hits from Radio & Records Christian music chart. "Fly" had limited success at mainstream radio, but by this point, Jars of Clay was much less visible in mainstream music than they had been in the mid-nineties.
The Eleventh Hour is considered a return to Jars of Clay's original sound, though in truth it bore stylistic similarities to all three of the albums preceding it, and continued the trend of favoring poetic lyrics over straightforwardly "Christian" lyrics (with lead single "I Need You" being a notable exception, reflecting a trend toward more direct and simplistic "worship songs" that had become popular in Christian music at around the start of the 21st century). The electric guitar was a more notable presence here than on past albums as well.
The Eleventh Hour debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums and at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 charts. The album was the first to not be certified after having their first three releases being Gold and Platinum sellers.
In 2003, Jars of Clay won both Grammy and Dove Awards for The Eleventh Hour as the band collected their third Grammy for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album and won Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year, respectively.
The band also released a live concert video titled 11 Live - Jars of Clay in Concert on DVD containing eleven performances from them performing songs from The Eleventh Hour plus favorites like "Flood," "Unforgetful You" and "Crazy Times." The DVD extras include a behind the scenes look at the making of the album, a short film about road life with the band and a four-song acoustic performance.
Track listing
All songs written by Jars of Clay.
1. Disappear -3:54
2. Something Beautiful -3:45
3. Revolution -3:41
4. Fly -3:19
5. I Need You -3:39
6. Silence -5:16
7. Scarlet -3:31
8. Whatever She Wants -3:42
9. The Eleventh Hour -4:26
10. These Ordinary Days -3:03
11. The Edge of Water -3:55
Personnel
Jars of Clay:
Dan Haseltine -vocals, percussion, tambourine
Charlie Lowell -organ, keyboards, backing vocals
Stephen Mason -electric guitars, backing vocals
Matt Odmark -acoustic guitar, backing vocals
additional musicians:
Aaron Sands -bass guitar (tracks 1, 3 -5)
Chris Donahue -bass guitar (tracks 2, 7, 8 and 11)
Shawn McWilliams -drums (tracks 2, 5, 7, 8 and 11)
Joe Porter -drums (tracks 1, 3, 4 and 7)
John Catchings -cello (tracks 2, 6 and 11)
Tab Leven -banjo on track 11
Fleming Painter -guest vocals on track 7
Accolades
Grammy Award -Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album (The Eleventh Hour)
Dove Award -Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year (The Eleventh Hour)
Radio singles
2002 "I Need You" -#1 R&R Christian CHR for 5 weeks, -#3 R&R Christian AC
2002 "Fly" -#1 R&R Christian CHR for 4 weeks, -#3 R&R Christian AC
2003 "Revolution" -#3 R&R Christian CHR
Previous release: The White Elephant Sessions (2000) (rarities album)
Next release: Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage (2003)
Watch the live concert video 11 Live - Jars of Clay in Concert here:
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