Customer Reviews

Christmas Songs by Jars of Clay

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Anytime I hear of an artist recording a Christmas album, I become slightly nauseous. How many renditions of "Winter Wonderland" can one generation drivel out?

I was, to say the least, apprehensive when I heard that Jars of Clay would be making a Christmas album. When the album became available, I listened with hesitation. What I found was pleasantly original and surprising. In a culture saturated on the bubble-gum Christmas-spirit, "Christmas Songs" restores a sense of mystery and depth that has been lost. What is most refreshing is the effectively balanced range of territory that is covered on the album. It is serious without being grave; it is fun without being flippant; it is experimental without being disoriented; and it is traditional without feeling stringent.

One of the most surprising gems on the album is the completely reconstructed carol, "O Little Town of Bethlehem." The melodies are hauntingly beautiful and permeate the song with an ethereal quality that brings out an appropriate sense of wonder incubated in the idea of the Incarnation.

The album harks back to the 50s with "Hibernation Day", a fun original contribution by Jars about being snowed in with the one you love and is tinged with just the right amount of nostalgia to make even the most calloused of lovers feel at least a little sappy and long for a time out of mind.

Other highlights include a rendition of Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime", "Love Came Down At Christmas", and the two instrumental pieces "Winter Skin" and "Evergreen" which bring a mood of enchantment to the album.

Drawbacks to the album are that it can be somewhat too meditative in areas. The second half of the album is much slower-paced and while that works well for the most part, it can start to feel monotonous at times. And although a great Christmas record, it feels somewhat out of place to think of it playing in the background on Christmas Day. But this is probably true for any Christmas album put out by a recording artist. Part of what makes any song about Christmas feel timeless and universal is, to me, a sense of anonymity as to who is singing the tune. But this criticism may be too personal. The overall drawbacks are minimal and significantly outweighed by the diversity and creativity of the rest of the album. All in all, Jars have succeeded in creating an excellent traditional, and yet modern Christmas album. You will definitely get your money's worth.

Jars of Clay has finally released a Christmas CD! Fans (or this one at least) have long awaited one. While it isn't the instant Christmas project I love, there is lots of great stuff here.

The disc features lots of rare and original songs. For example, the group wrote two instrumental songs, "The Gift of St. Cecilia" and "Evergreen." There are also three original songs. While "Winter Skin" and "Hibernation Day" celebrate winter and the fun it can bring, "Peace is Here" celebrates the peace that Jesus can bring.

In my Christmas music collection, I had no copies of Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime." I can't compare it to anything else, but I like their alt rock take on it. I was also unfamiliar with "Love Came Down at Christmas" which is based on a Christina Rossetti poem. I really like it. I especially enjoy the reference to a kids folk song at the end.

Then there are the classics. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" gets a makeover with a new melody. It makes the song very haunting. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is likewise slow and haunting. And yes, they include "Drummer Boy." This is a different version then their single released years ago, but it does sound very similar. "Christmastime is Here" is part jazz and part rock. It sort of works, but I still prefer the original.

And that's the only real problem with the disc. Some artists can pull off a mix of their signature sound on a Christmas release. Jars of Clay comes close, but they don't quite do it. The CD is fine, but I think it will be several years before I consider it a true Christmas project. I will definitely pull it out in mid-December when I am ready for something different. But it won't be the first thing I get out the day after Thanksgiving.

Don't misunderstand. This isn't a bad release. It is quite enjoyable for something different. And it will please Jars of Clay's many fans.

Last week, I would've given this album three stars. After listening to it off and on, I'm up to a four stars. By Christmas I might be at five. Why?

All the songs on the album have a unique feel - not the typical Christmasy feel. They have Jars of Clay's signature sound which isn't distracting. It's just that at times you don't feel like you're listening to Christmas music. Check out some of the song samples. After listening to it for a week however, I've come to appreciate this different take on songs you've had beat into your head by everyone from Bing Crosby to Seals and Croft. Christmas should be a time of contemplating God's gift to us of his son. By spinning the songs a little off center, Jars of Clay has forced me to do that. I focus more on these songs and their lyrics than I have on others. And by doing so, I've found myself reflecting on the upcoming Christmas season.

Maybe I'll move to five stars by tomorrow.

Let me start out by saying that I am a big fan of Jars of Clay. I own most of their albums and love many of their songs. I consider several of their tunes to be among my all time favorites.

For that reason, I had really looked forward to hearing their Christmas CD. I was expecting to hear many holiday favorites spiced up with that great JOC sound. Sadly, that is not the case.

Although a few of the songs are very good (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Drummer Boy), most of them are merely ok to good. Some of the songs such as the ones above are remakes of well known songs. There are also a few originals.

Listeners who simply must have everything that this group puts out may want to get this one. Otherwise, this may be one to skip.

I am a big Jars fan, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in this album. Perhaps it's just not my style, but I feel that if you're going to rewrite melodies to Christmas favorites, then they should be better than the original. I don't believe these were. Maybe I just need to give it more time, but for now, I'm not sold.

Jars of Clay's "Christmas Songs" is a unique Christmas album. I agree with what has been said for the most part. JOC does essentially what they did with their hymns album in that they take some poplar songs and obscure songs and then they also throw in some originals. They capture the spirit of the season on these songs but put their own stamp on it. As far as the sound of this album it feels like a continuation of their "Good Monsters" album. They also mix in some electonic influences in on songs like "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "Drummer Boy." As mentioned they throw in a couple of instrumentals as well that are a nice touch and add to the album. Overall I think this is a good album and will be enjoyed by those who either like JOC or just like good christmas music.

I must in all honesty echo for the most part the review of Derek M. Foster. Given that I totally agree with the balance it has and even some of the criticisms, I have only a couple thoughts to add for discussion sake and also so that the good reviews are reinforced.

Last year my wife and I bought Sarah McLachlan's album "Wintersong", and found it to definitely be our favorite Christmas album; however, our only criticism was that at times it seems to be on the more depressing side of music, where Christmas songs should be joyful! But even in that she seems to capture the meditative importance of Christmas (God will use whom He will). But I echo the sentiments of others that Christmas songs should be joyful in that Christ was born! There are few things to celebrate as much as that (and they all have to do with Him, of course).

In the case of this Jars of Clay album, there is a real joy in Christmas music without succumbing to a real, for lack of a better term, cheesiness or fluffiness that accompanies almost every modern day Christmas album. Although it is true that the back half of the album is at times too slow, I never got the sense that the joy was lost, and like all Jars albums, it is always very deep, even when they are having fun.

Having said that, I can also understand the desire to have Christmas albums sung with a certain anonymity, and for the most part I too enjoy that aspect of it; but I have come to realize over the years that Jars write with a signature that is fundamental to who they are, and it is difficult to imagine them otherwise. And besides, who doesn't enjoy hearing a classic with a distinguishable voice like Bing Crosby. In the future, we or our children may enjoy the incredible voice of Dan Haseltine and the style of Jars of Clay. But again, I appreciate that review. It was spot on.

Without a doubt this is probably the best Christmas Album I have ever purchased. The songs were not the same-old-same-old. Truely enjoyable for everyone - even older folks that do not enjoy contemporary Christian music.

We decided to order this cd when we heard the Jars of Clay song 'Love Came Down at Christmas' There are many cd's we have purchased in the past after hearing only one or two songs of the cd and were dissapointed that the rest of the songs were not very good. This is an exceptional cd. Yes, there are some frequently played Christmas songs on this cd but Jars of Clay have unique renditions of all of them. Their harmonies continue to give me goose bumps at times. The electronic accompainments are very pleasing to the ear also.

I have been a fan for years. I still have the t-shirt from their first concert tour.

Sadly, this was a weak effort. The production values (i.e.mixing and effects) were terrible, sounds like someone did it on their computer at home. The tunes lacked integrity and the essence of the message of the songs themselves was lost perhaps in an effort to be new and edgy. It reminded be of when Rebecca St James did a song called "Be still and know" that was practically a heavy metal rock ballad. She seemed to have missed the irony between the words and the sheer volume of her rendition. Jars does not get that bad, but seems to have fallen into the trap of having to be different for the sake of being different.

Not worth it. Sorry guys, I have to be honest.