Arguably one of the most influential albums of the last 90's and early 00's, Jimmy Eat World's Clarity mixed emotional lyrics with elements of punk, pop, soft ballads as well as small doses of electronics to set them apart from the stereotypical emo bands. For me, it's a perfect album as it is. I can listen to it from start to finish and never get board, which is more than I can say about other albums (*cough* Chase This Light *cough*). Clarity was a great album for me because it was the time in their career that both Jim and Tom sang lead vocals and I feel like their efforts since without Tom's vocals are missing a spark that this album has. The demos for this album are incredible. Every song sounds the way it should; raw and filled with emotion. Several things should be noted that are differences from the actual studio album. One main difference is in the lyrics of the songs (most notably in "Your New Aesthetic"). Another is the length of "Goodbye Sky Harbor" (the demo is 5 minutes and the studio version is 16 minutes). Also there is an unnamed track that, to my knowledge, has never be rerecorded although it's a pretty good song. Jimmy Eat World recently finished their Clarity X10 tour in celebration of the album's 10th year anniversary and they have a recording of one the dates of the tour for sale on their website (it's completely worth it, you get the entire album plus "No Sensitivity" and "What I Would Say To You Now").Link
Website
Track Listing:
1. Instrumental
2. Blister
3. A Sunday
4. Clarity
5. Secret Crush
6. What I Would Say To You Now
7. Your New Aesthetic
8. For Me This Is Heaven / Roller Queen
9. Believe In What You Want
10. Christmas Card
11. Untitled
12. Lucky Denver Mint
13. Goodbye Sky Harbor
