''If I Left the Zoo'' is the third full-length studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

of the band

Jars of Clay Jars of Clay is a Christian alternative rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The members met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay. (2005). Making the GradeiTunes Originals - Jars of Clay. AC Audio Essential Records. The ...

. It was released November 9, 1999, by Essential Records.

Overview

The band's third album 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. Due to the influence of producer

Dennis Herring Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. He has owned two successful 24-track recor ...

and drummer

Ben Mize Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglüc ...

, this album had more of a

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immergl� ...

influence. This album produced several Christian radio singles, most notably "Unforgetful You", which also appeared in the soundtrack to the 1999 film '' Drive Me Crazy''. "Unforgetful You peaked at No. 40 on ''Billboard'' Adult Top 40.

Album title

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 Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Roaring Lambs'', is an outtake from the ''If I Left the Zoo'' recording sessions. 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 White Elephant Sessions''. The name of the recording sessions for ''If I Left the Zoo'' was called the ''Tweed Horse Sessions''. Many of the songs that made the final track listing were recorded in raw form during these sessions. However, only "Collide" and "Can't Erase It" appears on ''The White Elephant Sessions''.

Accolades

This album was their second in a row to earn a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.

Track listing

Credits

Jars of Clay *

Dan Haseltine Daniel Paul Haseltine (born January 12, 1973) is an American singer best known as lead vocalist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. He has performed vocals, piano, accordion, percussion and melodica, while with Jars of Clay. ...

– lead vocals, percussion (2, 8, 10, 11), loops (2, 3, 10), backing vocals (2), handclaps (4, 8),

toy piano The toy piano, also known as the ( in German), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress recognizes the toy pia ...

(5), drums (10) *

Charlie Lowell Charles Daniel Lowell (born October 21, 1973)Jars WorldJars World: Music: Tim. Date of Birth noted. Retrieved 9 August 2007. is an American pianist most known for being the pianist and keyboardist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of ...

–

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

(1, 2, 9), backing vocals (1-7, 9-11), Vox Jaguar organ (2, 8), handclaps (2, 8),

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

(3, 5, 8),

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

(3, 5),

pump organ The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reed aerophone, free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ ...

(4), acoustic piano (5, 6, 10, 11),

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(5, 7, 9),

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

(6), toy piano (6), percussion (10), strings (11) * Stephen Mason – acoustic guitar (1, 3, 5-7), backing vocals (1-7, 9-11), Casio synthesizers (2), electric guitars (2-11), handclaps (2), car horn sounds (3),

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

(9), percussion (10) *

Matt Odmark Matthew Thomas Odmark (born January 25, 1974) is an American musician most known for being a guitarist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. Biography Matthew Odmark was raised in Rochester, New York where he attended McQuaid ...

– electric guitars (1), acoustic guitar (2-5, 7-11), handclaps (2, 8), backing vocals (2), lab technician (5), percussion (10, 11) Additional musicians *

– handclaps (2, 8), acoustic guitar (4), guitar stylings (7) * Clay Jones – acoustic guitar (4),

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

(4) * Ben Egan – lap steel guitar (6) *

Aaron Sands Jars of Clay is a Christian alternative rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The members met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay. (2005). Making the GradeiTunes Originals - Jars of Clay. AC Audio Essential Records. They ...

– bass (2-11), percussion (10) *

– drums (1, 2, 4-11), percussion (1, 8, 10), minute timer sounds (5) * Joe Porter – drums (3) * David Henry –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(1) * Ned Henry –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

(1) * Jonathan Noël – backing vocals (7) Oxford Coffee Choir on "Goodbye, Goodnight" * Robert Cooper * David Fair * Billy Hancock * Tom Hurdle * Dick Marchbanks * John Valentine The Darwin Hobbs Gospel Choir on "I'm Alright *

Darwin Hobbs Darwin Todd Hobbs (born November 30, 1968) is an American gospel music singer noted for his vocal similarity to classic soul singers Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson and Lou Rawls. In addition to his career as a gospel artist, Hobbs and his ensem ...

* Sherrie Kibble * Gale Mayes West * Leanne Palmore * Angela Primm * Duawne Starling Production *

Robert Beeson Essential Records is a contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It is a division of the major label Sony Music Nashville. History It was established in 1992 and acquired by Brentwood Music i ...

– executive producer, art direction * Michael Tedesco – executive producer * Dennis Herring – producer, mixing * Richard Hasal – engineer * Rob Cooper – second engineer * Ted Gainey – second engineer * Lee Groitzsch – second engineer * Shawn McLean – second engineer * Clay Jones – additional mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

– mastering at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine * Michelle Pearson – A&R production * Michelle Kapp – design * Michael Wilson – artist photography * John Webber – cover image photography * Bill Robert – in-studio photography * Double Down Images – couch photography

Charts and RIAA certifications

''Front Yard Luge'' (bonus disc)

''Front Yard Luge'' is a live, mini-album that was available with pre-order of ''If I Left The Zoo'' from select retailers.

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Jars of Clay albums Essential Records (Christian) albums Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album Albums produced by Dennis Herring