Much Afraid

Much Afraid is the second studio album by American Christian rock band Jars of Clay. It was released in 1997 by Essential Records. Following the charting success of the band's debut album, Much Afraid was moderately successful, but was unable to achieve the level of its predecessor.

Much Afraid
Studio album by Jars of Clay
Released	September 16, 1997
Studio	The Aquarium (London) Secret Sound (Franklin, Tennessee) Sixteenth Avenue Sound (Nashville)
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	46:06
Label	Essential
Producer	Stephen Lipson
Jars of Clay chronology
Drummer Boy (1995) Much Afraid (1997) Stringtown (1998)
Alternative cover
Exclusive pre-release cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Cross Rhythms
Entertainment Weekly	C−
Jesus Freak Hideout

Background

The title is a reference to Hannah Hurnard's 1955 novel Hinds' Feet on High Places, whose main character was named Much Afraid.

The album marked various musical and lyrical differences to its predecessor.

"Fade to Grey" and "Frail" were both previously from the group's demo recording Frail in 1994. All other tracks from that demo were recorded for the debut album Jars of Clay in 1995. Both songs were changed significantly, especially "Frail", which was previously an instrumental piece and now contained lyrics. Notably, these songs were two of the first songs written by Jars of Clay.

The album features the multi-instrumentalist Greg Wells, who went on to produce OneRepublic, Katy Perry, Pink, and Rufus Wainwright, playing drums and bass guitar on almost every song; he also co-wrote "Tea and Sympathy" and the single "Crazy Times".

The song "Five Candles (You Were There)" was originally written for the soundtrack to the Jim Carrey film Liar Liar, as the film is centred on a five-year old's birthday wish, but it was cut from the credits in favor of a blooper reel. The song was subsequently featured on a few other movie soundtracks, like the movie Jack Frost (1998 film).

One song recorded during the Much Afraid sessions that did not make the final track listing is "Fly Farther". The song, featuring vocals by Alison Krauss, was later released in 1999 on the band's early rarities collection The White Elephant Sessions.

Much Afraid earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jars of Clay (Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, and Matt Odmark), except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Overjoyed"	Jars of Clay, Greg Wells, Mark Hudson	2:58
2.	"Fade to Grey"	Jars of Clay, Matt Bronleewe	3:34
3.	"Tea and Sympathy"	Haseltine, Wells, Hudson	4:51
4.	"Crazy Times"		3:34
5.	"Frail"		6:57
6.	"Five Candles (You Were There)"		3:48
7.	"Weighed Down"		3:39
8.	"Portrait of an Apology"		5:43
9.	"Truce"		3:11
10.	"Much Afraid"		3:53
11.	"Hymn"		3:53

Japanese release bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"The Chair" (from the Long Kiss Goodnight soundtrack)	5:22
13.	"Sleepers"	1:54

A bonus three-track disc was bundled with early copies of the album and made available exclusively through Family Christian Bookstores. All three tracks were recorded live acoustically on July 3, 1997, at the Quad, with no remastering or editing of the songs.

Seatbelt Tuba bonus disk

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Crazy Times"
2.	"Liquid"
3.	"The Coffee Song"

Reception

The album was highly anticipated due to the success and acclaim of the band's eponymous debut album, but was not as well received. Despite debuting at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 (the group's first record had failed to reach the Top 40), it quickly slid down the chart, its sales failing to match those of its predecessor. The lead single, "Crazy Times", did not perform well on mainstream radio. It was, however, better received on Christian radio.

Charts and certifications

Album

Year	Billboard 200	RIAA Certification
1997	8	Platinum

Singles

Year	Song	Chart	Position
1997	"Crazy Times"	Modern Rock Tracks	38

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)	Position
US Billboard 200	199

Personnel

Jars of Clay

• Dan Haseltine – vocals, percussion
• Charlie Lowell – keyboards, acoustic piano, organ, backing vocals
• Stephen Mason – guitars, bass, backing vocals
• Matt Odmark – guitars, mandolin, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Greg Wells – bass (1–3, 8), drums (1–5, 7–10), percussion (4)
• Neil Conti – drums (6)
• Kate St. John – English horn (5)
• Ronn Huff – string arrangements (2, 5, 8, 11)
• The Nashville String Machine – strings (2, 5, 8, 11)
• Richard Niles – string arrangements (3)
• Gavyn Wright – conductor (6)
• The London Session Orchestra – strings (6)

Production

• Robert Beeson – executive producer, art direction
• Stephen Lipson – producer
• Heff Moraes – engineer, mixing
• Chuck Linder – assistant engineer
• Mike Griffith – string engineer
• Adam Hatley – assistant string engineer
• Don C. Tyler – digital editing
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Mastering, Los Angeles, California
• Michelle Knapp – art direction
• Skye Communications – art direction, design, layout
• Photodisc – cover photography
• Martyn Galina-Jones – inside photography
• Norma Jean Roy – inside photography