Search - Jars of Clay :: Essential (Bril)

Great background music for a lazy Sunday afternoon

Joshua Banker | Clovis, CA | 09/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jars of Clay has been one of the few original groups with a unique sound in Christian music. Their acoustic sound and very heartfelt lyrics has earned them many fans over the years. I like many people fell in love with the band when their hit song "Flood" was released. In addition to being a huge hit on Christian radio it was also a huge hit on Alternative radio in 1995. Now 12 years later it's about time they got a greatest hits collection. I was pleasantly surprised that their label chose to release their best of under the Sony Legacy "The Essential" series. Under the "Essential" series most artists get the two disk treatment. The series typically covers all the hits by the artist, fan favorites, and "essential" album tracks.



This collection follows Jars Of Clay from their debut album to their recent (and in my opinion their best) album Good Monsters. Most of this collection is in cronological order with a handful of rarities at the end. With some exceptions, the compiler took a good number of tracks from each album. The album that got the least number would be Redemption Songs with only one track "God Will Lift Up Your Head" which is a good thing since that was the only "radio friendly" track that fits very well in this collection.



I have been a very casual fan of Jars Of Clay since 1995 with their debut. I didn't buy many Jars of Clay albums but I would hear their hits on WOW hits compilations. I enjoyed their songs but I never got around to buying the albums. It wasn't until the release of Good Monsters last year that my interest in Jars of Clay was renewed. I heard "Dead Man (Carry Me) on the radio and something about that song inspired me to pick up the album. Good Monsters is a quality album that was one of the best Christian albums released in 2006. (Four solid tracks from that album are featured on this collection) With my renewed interest in the band I did an amazon search and found this collection and I decided to purchase it. I discovered that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality music this band has been creating over a decade that I have been missing out on. If you are a casual fan of Jars Of Clay like me this is a really great sampler of many of the albums and songs that you may not be aware of. Check this out!



To the faithful fans out there it is worth picking up for the remastered tracks alone (at least until their back catalog gets remastered). The classic tracks sound much better here and they are now at a volume that is equal to current CDs.



One problem I have with all greatest hits albums is there is always that one or two tracks I wish were included. That is the case for me with this collection too but it is a minor complaint. I consider all best of collections as a "best of the rest". My favorite songs that are missing are usually on albums that I already own and I can always make a playlist that includes my missing favorites.



So buy this collection and play it in the background on a nice quiet evening or a Sunday afternoon."

The One Thing That I Know

Tyler Barlass | Oklahoma | 11/07/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's been 13 years (as of 2007) since Jars of Clay released their debut eponymous album. It's also been 13 years since the media labled the band under a suffocating genre label: CCM (Christian Contemporary Music).



The label has been both a burden and a blessing; the burden is that fans of similar artists shun away from Jars believing it to be preachy Christian music, while on the other hand CCM fans have always welcomed Jars into their homes giving the band a constant fan base. Either way Jars of Clay has made consistantly good rock music for well over a decade, and if you haven't heard any of this Nashville quartet since 1994 here's your chance.



Rightly so, Jars gets the all out treatment for their first greatest hits collection. With two discs containing 34 tracks, the price tag is justified. The album goes in chronological order from their first single (and only top 40 hit) "Flood" to a couple of tunes from their new Christmas album that rounds out the 2nd disc. Though it's marketed as a greatest hits collection, the album is actually about half singles and half unreleased and b-side tracks. And though it's nice to have all the b-sides collected in one place, mixing them with the bands best material has a somewhat odd affect. Since many of the songs are unreleased for the reason of not being quite good enough to even make an album cut.



Overall the collection here is solid. It spans 8 albums (though Redemption Songs is only represented with one track). I also wonder why one of their most popular songs "Show You Love" was not included. All complaints aside, Jars of Clay is one of the most underrated bands making music today and I strongly recommend this Essential collection."

My one and only complaint about this collection is...

Judy | USA | 03/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It doesn't include lyrics! To me, that is a major drawback. While most diehard Jars of Clay fans know all the lyrics, some don't. I would highly recommend it, nonetheless. :)"