Much Afraid

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.

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.

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.

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

Production