Jars Of Clay launched its career in 1995 with its universal hit, "Flood". Since then, the band has amassed more then six million in career sales along with several RIAA certifications (5 Gold, 2 Platinum and 1 Double-Platinum) an American Music Award nomination, 17 No. 1 radio hits and numerous film credits and BMI honors for songwriting and performing. The Jars of Clay Greatest Hits package is a collection of 14 songs made hits by this groundbreaking band.
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Good Work by this Band| Posted April 07, 2008
A glance at some of the achievements of Jars of Clay is eight studio releases, two of which are platinum, and seventeen number one radio hits definitely deserves some applause. The bands most recent CD is Greatest Hits, a compilation of thirteen rock hits and one new song, "Love Is The Protest".
The album opens up with "flood (new mix)" which first put Jars of Clay into the spotlight; the song is a creative pop song with redemptive lyrics. The album starts from the beginning and moves on. "Love song for a savior" is of the bands self titled debut CD; it's a light song that is a little repetitive, a theme that is common with some of their singles. "Worlds apart" is a soft almost boring song but it speeds up a little at the end, the lyrics contemplates Christ's sacrifice.
Both "crazy times" and "frail" are off of the Much Afraid disc. The former, "crazy times", is good medium rock song that gets a little carried away with the electric guitar, and the "frail" has a haunting sound. It's gets simple and a little repetitive on "show you love", but the light rock song is decent. "Unforgettable you", off of their CD If I left the Zoo, is an upbeat song about the relationship between God and man. The verses of "I need you" are fun, but the song has simple lyrics and a repetitive chorus. Off of Jars of Clay's album, Who We are Instead, "amazing grace" has good lyrics but the music is unchallenging.
The band put on their worship caps on Redemption songs; a CD that put out "God will lift up your head" a solid worship tune. Jars of Clay broadened their music styled on Good Monsters and it gave us "dead man (carry me)" a great medium rock song about salvation. Among the many profound lines on the brilliant rock song "work" is "I have no fear of drowning/it's the breathing that's taking all this work". The new song "love is a protest" " is a fun up beat rock song about the redemptive power of love.
It's hard to believe that it's been twelve years since Jars of Clay's first hit single "flood", since then they have been putting out good music and have loaded the Christian airwaves with singles. Greatest Hits is a good compilation but a few songs lack either lack challenging music, or they lack inspiring lyrics. It may leave fans going "the new song is nice but, I've heard this before" or new listeners "some good stuff
Jars Rocks| Posted May 29, 2009
jars of clay has been one of my favorite groups for a while now, and I just can never get enough of the melodius sound.
The Best of Jars of Clay| Posted July 14, 2008
This really is the best of Jars of Clay! This greates hits album takes the best of Jars of Clay songs and puts them together to make one awesome album that everyone should have. They even added an awesome new song called "Love is the Protest" which is an absolute great song! "Love is the Prote-est, uuhh ohhhh, uuuhhhh oooohhhh!" LOL! This is definitely one album to pick up for any christian music fan especially for those who don't know Jars of Clay. This is a great way to get to know them, their songs, and their type of music!
Jars of Clay - Greatest Hits| Posted June 17, 2008
Multi-platinum selling band Jars of Clay has recorded many hits over the years, epitomised by their first, "Flood;" a hit on both mainstream and Christian radio stations. Never content to stick to one style, they constantly evolved their sound over the years, always presenting their fans with something different with every release. Perhaps this is one of the reasons they haven't faded into obscurity, with their risky but apparently successful tendency to suddenly take a left turn with each new album, leaving you with a delicious feeling of expectation for what they'll do with their next release. For the most part, this "Greatest Hits" collection highlights the various stylistic evolutions the band has gone through, displaying some of the best from each iteration of their music.
An obvious and logical choice to kick off the album is "Flood," the song that sent them hurtling into the spotlight. Even with this, their first single, a sound refreshingly different to most is already clearly evident, with guitar, synth and violin all interweaving together. In fact, three other tracks from their self-titled début are present here: the beautifully executed "Love Song for a Saviour," "Like a Child," and "Worlds Apart." Taking one of the first aforementioned left turns, "Crazy Times' (from their sophomore release, Much Afraid) displays a more edgy, rock-centric sound, with wailing electric guitars and catchy riffs that show that you just can't put the band in a stylistic box. When the album moves on to "Frail," however, it is evident that Jars of Clay weren't planning on abandoning their acoustic roots, and instead polished and matured them. "Frail" was actually the very first song they composed as a group, but though the title track of their original demo CD, it never appeared on their first album. Instead, it was finally re-recorded for Much Afraid.
One of the issues I have with this compilation though, is the particularly weak coverage given to If I Left the Zoo, The Eleventh Hour and Redemption Songs. While their début was given four track slots, those three are left with only one each. Surely the provision for another track could've been added to the disc, and two of the début tracks removed? Whatever misgivings may be felt at this obvious omission, the three tracks provided to represent these albums are unquestionably worthy of inclusion. "Unforgetful You" is chosen to represent If I Left the Zoo, and is undeniably the best choice for the compilation. "I Need You" gives a small idea of why The Eleventh Hour won a Grammy, with its beguiling chorus and clever mixture of folk, rock and synth. Quite a few of the songs from Redemption Songs would have fitted nicely in the single slot available, but perhaps "God Will Lift Up Your Head" was the best choice under the circumstances, and unarguably an excellent song in itself.
However, not all of the group's more recent albums have been so badly overlooked. A notable change in direction for them stylistically, Who We Are Instead displayed a more folk, country feel from the band, which they managed to accomplish remarkably well. It would have been an act of near-sacrilege to omit "Show You Love" from the track listing; I'm glad they remembered to include it, as it is unarguably one of the best songs from the album. "Amazing Grace," though not as memorable, is an interesting throwback to the heyday of Johnny Cash's country-gospel songs, and as such, is an acceptable choice. Still, I would've preferred "Trouble Is," "Faith Enough" or "Only Alive" in the place of "Amazing Grace," but that's just me.
Finally, we're brought up to what could have been Jars of Clay's most edgy and hard-hitting album yet, with a more aggressive feel overall. Good Monsters was a complete and utter left-fielder, preceded as it was by two of their softest and most reflective releases to date; nevertheless, the band shifted their style effortlessly, while still maintaining their unique touch. The two tracks included on the compilation from this release are examples of their auditory deviation, and also the best choices. "Dead Man (Carry Me)" is an infectious rock anthem; although the lyrics are sober, the song itself maintains a light and bouncy tone all the way through. On the other hand, "Work" carries the desperate and dark overtones into the music itself, but without a feeling of depression. Both are stellar rock songs, musically and perhaps more notably, lyrically as well.
Tacked on to the end of Greatest Hits is a new track the band specially recorded for this compilation. Displaying yet another side of their musical diversity, "Love Is The Protest" is an active and positive ending to the album. In a way, it's reminiscent of something that U2 could have come up with. It would've been more satisfying if we were treated to more than just one new track, to offset the disappointingly slim 14-track listing. Third Day's Chronology albums were full of goodies, from re-recordings of their classics to rare and hard-to-find songs, as well as a bonus DVD with music videos, footage of live performances, bootleg videos, and even a band documentary. Compared to all that, the addition of one new song is pathetic; surely Jars of Clay could have pulled something out of their archives, like acoustic versions of some of their more upbeat songs, or perhaps a couple of tracks from their rare b-sides album, The White Elephant Sessions?
Summing it all up, Jars of Clay - Greatest Hits is a fine introduction to an even finer band, with a collection of some of the best songs ever composed by the group. However, if you're looking for something as comprehensive as the Third Day Chronology collections, or even The Essential Jars of Clay, forget it-you won't find it here. Really, most dedicated fans will want to pass this one over; still, as a gift to convert your friend who is utterly clueless about them, it delivers.
Amazing Album| Posted April 03, 2008
I love this album because all my favorite songs are on it. My favorite song on the Greatest Hits album is "Love Is The Protest", this song has a lot of meaning to it. I highly recommend buying this album.
Best of Jars| Posted April 02, 2008
There is nothing new that can be said of this CD that has not already been stated in other reviews by my friends Mrjocool and Arryc. I have all of the JOC Cd's and enjoy them very much.This is an excellent CD for new JOC fans.
Earthen Vessels| Posted April 01, 2008
The greatest part about this album is that one can hear how Jars of Clay has changed throughout the years. The album moves from their early acoustic sound to their current alternative style.
Of course you can only fit so many songs on an album, but this could have easily been a two-Cd set, as JOC has so many hits that it's fans love to listen to.
There is really no need for a true long-time fan to by this Cd, as with any greatest hits album, for those fans should already have most of these songs. The new song resembles the sound heard in Good Monsters, so fans of their newer stuff will enjoy it.
I recommend this album for newer fans of Jars of Clay.
True to title| Posted April 01, 2008
The new release of Jars of Clay's Greatest Hits is indeed just that. Although Jars have had enough hits to fill a double CD release, this collection does a great job of pulling together their best work over the full range of their albums. As a bonus, the new track Love Is The Protest carries on the style of their recent release Good Monsters. While most longtime JoC fans will already own the albums represented by this release, new fans or those desiring a highlight album of their songs will find this release lives up to its name.
good work !| Posted October 08, 2008
i like jars of clay. there older stuff isn't as good as their newer stuff, but their music is great. they should be considered classic christian music.........
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