Customer Reviews

Essential

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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.

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.

This is the best greatest hits collection available for this groundbreaking, innovative, Multi-Platinum selling, and Grammy Award winning group. This set covers the spectrum of their career from their first big hit, Flood, right on through their latest recordings. This group not only dominated the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) charts but also scored mainstream crossover hits with songs like Flood, Crazy Times, and Unforgetful You. If you like acoustic-based, progressive music, you will like Jars of Clay!

I have been a fan of this band since 1995 and this is the best compilation of theirs availible. Much better than the single CD "Greatest Hits" collection. This one spans their whole career plus some rarities, not just the singles. Well worth the money!!

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. :)

This will be a wonderful CD and I am so glad you sent it, thank you! Have a good Christmas and God bless!

Prior to purchasing this CD, my exposure to Jars of Clay had been limited to the 'Much Afraid' album (1997). I'd heard various other songs on Pandora, but did not have a lot of listening experience.

All that being said, this is a really great compilation...great diversity in content and really good music/lyrics.

These guys continue to "hit it out of the park"!

This cd is a great mix of music. Beware, there isn't a song from every album, but Jars of Clay's musical talent is well represented. And even though I hadn't picked up a new Jars of Clay cd in years, it was very easy to hear what made me a fan in the first place. "The Essential" cd is a great intro to the band, or for someone rediscovering the band. This cd is great and holds a permanent place in my car cd player.

I own nearly every album that Jars of Clay has released and this compilation contains almost every song I would have picked for their best. You will get all of their best singles as well as some of their more thought-provoking and beautiful songs like "Silence" and "Tonight." If you are a new fan of the band, you can't go wrong by starting with this album. This is also a great buy because it contains some rare songs that you can't find on other albums.

This compilation CD is all any Jars of Clay fan could hope for - excellent choices of songs, logical order, great enjoyment. Absolutely excellent!