Search - Jars of Clay :: Greatest Hits

A nice collection from a great band

A Fan | VA | 04/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not sure why they released this single CD Greatest Hits collection less than a year after releasing the 2 CD collection "The Essential Jars of Clay." Don't get me wrong, this is an nice overview of their work, but "The Essential Jars of Clay" has more than twice as many songs as this collection for almost the same price.



That being said, this collection is not a sub-set of "Essential." While there is a lot of overlap, this CD includes six songs not included in "Essential": the excellent Like A Child, Frail, Show You Love, Amazing Grace, Work, and the previously unreleased Love Is The Protest. It also includes their classics that were not only hits on the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) charts but also hit the mainstream charts like Flood, Crazy Times, and Unforgetful You. If you like acoustic-based, progressive music, you will like Jars of Clay whether you are a Christian or not!



While this is an excellent collection, unless you absolutely must have the previous songs mentioned that were not included on "Essential", I would recommend that you pass on this set and get "The Essential Jars of Clay" instead. You will get more music for your dollar."

A Brave Attempt at a Collection

Mark Baker | Santa Clarita, CA United States | 05/08/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am one of those obsessive collectors bands love. I buy every CD they release and every greatest hits collection as well. And I have found that very few collections truly capture everything I love from an artist. And the longer the career, the harder it becomes.



This CD makes a brave attempt at collection 13 years of hits from Jars of Clay. These songs were spread out over seven studio releases. And they've got 13 slots, plus the requisite new track. Talk about an impossible mission.



The disc goes in chronological order and starts with the band's mega hit, "Flood." In fact, their debut is the best represented release with four songs, including my favorite "Like a Child." From there it's a sprint through their other releases including such hits as "Frail," "I Need You," "Unforgetful You," and "Dead Man (Carry Me)."



The problem really becomes that, with seven releases, there's bound to be something left out. As an example, "If I Left the Zoo" and "The Eleventh Hour" both only have one track appease. Frankly, that means I am mourning the loss of "Grace" and "The Eleventh Hour." And I would have loved to see more then one song from "Redemption Songs" since I loved that disc.



Finally, the disc closes with the new track, "Love is the Protest." It's a strong rocker that sounds like it would have fit in on "Good Monsters," which is hardly a surprise since that was their last release. I enjoy the song, but it's not one of their best ever.



I will admit I am a marginal Jars of Clay fan. When I am in the mood, I enjoy them, but I get tired of them easily. These are great songs. But even I can see they have so many great songs that were left off the list.



If you are looking to get a few Jars of Clay songs, this is a good disc. But if you expected the impossible, a collection of all their truly great songs in one place, this one disc will disappoint."

How to end a contract

Joshua Banker | Clovis, CA | 04/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are three different reasons greatest hits albums are released:



(1) The band/artist wants to do a retrospective for the fans (Great example: Audio A's Adios);



(2) The band/artist left or was removed from a music label and needs to finish out a contract (great example of this is Jennifer Knapp who had a Best of, Rarities, and a live cd);



(3) The label or artist/band want to do a money grab and make a few extra bucks off of the hits (see all the special budget line CDs out there);



This collection seems like it was more of a contract fulfillment by the label than the band making a collection of hits for the fans. For those of you who don't know Jars of Clay recently split with Essential (owned by Sony/BMG) and is now with a new record label that they created called Gray Matters. Even though this appears to be a contract filler it has been given the endorsement by the band on their myspace page.



About the music:

This is an excellent concise collection of Jars of Clay hits and for the casual fan this would be all they need. The sound is great and they have most all of Jars of Clay's biggest hits and this will definitely be a CD I listen to frequently. I have two big problems with this collection though. The first is that it is missing "Liquid" from their first album. There is plenty of space left on this CD to have included it. It was one of their early big hits and definitely a fan favorite and it's exclusion is unforgivable. My other problem is that the record label only a few short months ago released Jars of Clay: The Essential Jars Of Clay. The "Essential" was a two disc collection that gathered some of the biggest hits and some great album tracks. One plus that "Greatest Hits" has over the "Essential" is that it includes to great hits "Faith Like a Child" and "Show You Love". As for the new track "Love is the Protest", it is a decent song recorded for this Greatest hits package. Though it isn't my favorite, in time it will probably grow on me.



There are hardly any greatest hits collections out there that can please everyone. Though it is missing "Liquid", in this digital age I have the track already and I can just make my own "Greatest Hits" from the tracks I have from this and "the Essential" so in the end everyone can be happy."