Beyond The Turntable

Jars of Clay seemingly came out of nowhere to reach national prominence in the mid-90s with their hit singleFlood. With mainstream airplay and appearances on shows like David Letterman's, they were instantly established as a major force in Christian music. Now, the 11ive DVD gives everyone the chance to see Jars live in concert and to get a backstage glimpse of life with the guys.

This is the most professional-looking DVD I've seen from a Christian band. It's first-rate from the menus to the bonuses. The DVD begins with a full electric concert that lasts for more than an hour, offering up essentials like Disappear, Crazy Times, Revolution and the obligatory Flood. The audience joins in for a worshipful sing-along version of Love Song for a Savior and frontman Dan Haseltine introduces Fly with the touching account of how a couple struggling with cancer inspired the song. The encore includes The Edge of Water followed by a tremendous performance of Worlds Apart, starting softly and building up to an intense finish.

The band then moves to an unplugged stage for another 18 minutes or so, performing Boy on a String, Needful Hands and Something Beautiful, along with with a new arrangement of Liquid. A string section beautifully augments the band during this set.

The artflick film offers 24 minutes of insight into the band's roadlife, with humorous bits as well as insightful comments, such as guitarist Matt Odmark sharing that it's easy to get caught up in the creative process and forget that music is about communication. ten:thirty, a 12-minute overview of the making of Eleventh Hour, originally appeared as a limited edition CD for pre-buys of the Eleventh Hour CD. The final bonus is a seven-minute live video of Frail performed in 1998.

In the 11ive DVD, Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark, Charlie Lowell and Stephen Mason have given us the best Christian music DVD yet. It will be enjoyed by any Jars of Clay fans, especially if they have their DVD player connected to their sound system.

Visit: Jars of Clay and Jarchives.