"Frail" is a song written and performed by Christian rock band Jars of Clay. It has appeared on many recordings by the group and lends its name to their debut demo release, '' Frail,'' from 1994. The song has never been released as a single.

Background

"Frail" was initially the college submission entry for Stephen Mason, guitarist for Jars of Clay. As written by Mason, the song was purely instrumental. After creating Jars of Clay with singer

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. Haseltine has performed vocals, piano, accordion, percussion and melodica, while with Jars of ...

and pianist

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 o ...

, Mason put forward the song to the group. It was then re-recorded for the group's demo, ''Frail,'' in 1994, and was chosen as the demo's title track. In 1995, the band recorded their highly successful debut full-length studio album, '' Jars of Clay.'' "Frail" was not chosen to be included on the album, however. Like the song "Fade to Grey," it was added to their next studio album, ''

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 ...

,'' in 1997. For the re-recording, lyrics were written by the group, which by this time included second guitarist

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 ...

. This version is considered to be the "standard" version of the song. In 1999, following the release of the group's third album, ''

If I Left the Zoo ''If I Left the Zoo'' is the third full-length studio album of the band Jars of Clay. 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 '' ...

,'' Jars of Clay released a rarities collection named ''

The White Elephant Sessions ''The White Elephant Sessions'' is a rarities and demo version album by American Christian band Jars of Clay, released in conjunction with the band's third studio album ''If I Left the Zoo''. Several of the tracks come straight from the demo re ...

.'' This collection included the instrumental version of "Frail" from the original demo album. Most recently, the band re-recorded the song in 2003 for the studio portion of their 2-disc studio/live album '' Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage.'' Like most of the studio recordings for the album, "Frail" was a re-recorded, rearranged version. However, it was the first to change key: All previous recordings of the song have been in

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

, but this version was transposed to the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...

. It also contained a very brief introduction unique to this recording.

Personnel

This personnel section pertains to the ''

'' version of the song. The personnel may vary from version to version.

Jars of Clay

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Stephen Mason -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s and backing vocals *

- guitars and backing vocals *

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and backing vocals

Additional musicians

Greg Wells Greg Wells is a Canadian musician, record producer, songwriter and audio engineer. Wells has songs on over 130 million albums sold. He has worked with John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande, Jazmine Sullivan, Kid Cudi, Adele, Rufus Wai ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Kate St. John -

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

Production personnel

Stephen Lipson Stephen J. Lipson (born 16 March 1954) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter. As a record producer, he has worked with many artists including Annie Lennox, Propaganda, Act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Will Youn ...

- producer *

Robert Beeson Robert Beeson is a music executive. He founded Essential Records in 1992, home to artists Jars of Clay and Third Day, along with Caedmon's Call, Bebo Norman and FFH. He also created the City On a Hill series. He became Senior VP A&R for Provid ...

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

* Heff Moraes - engineer and mixer * Chuck Linder - assistant engineer *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

- mastering * Don C. Tyler -

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

References

{{authority control Jars of Clay songs 1987 songs Song recordings produced by Stephen Lipson Songs written by Dan Haseltine Songs written by Stephen Mason (musician) Songs written by Charlie Lowell Songs written by Matt Odmark