Customer Reviews

Jars of Clay

5 star:		(228)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I can not count the number of times I have been listening to this cd and feel as if God is whispering some message into my ear through these beautiful lyrics. This cd is truly God-breathed, and I never can stop wondering with awe that these songs were written by 19 and 20 year olds! These songs are unbelievable in their content, with the amazing voice of Dan Hasletine singing these lyricaly simplistic songs, but deeply moving with their subtle messages, all with imaginative and unique melodies (I absolutely love the Gregorian chant in Liquid, and the string solo in Flood!) Jars of Clay will never cease to amaze me with their philisophical approach to human frailties, perspective of religion as a precious relationhip with God, and of course their awesome music! Their creative appraoch to using strings, and Dan's wonderful, wonderful voice have certainly made me find a treasure in Jars of Clay.

When I first purchased this CD, it was for the then popular song LIQUID. Its subtle lyrics are accompanied by a solid beat, but not overbearing like other Christian Rock music I've heard. You know... the kind that quenches the Spirit. I must admit, my first reaction was that I would like about two or three songs and the CD would eventually end up in the "pile". NOT! This is one of those collections that grows better with time! Each song tells of a different human condition of the heart to which we can all can relate - but you have to look deeper than the surface. This one is deep! It's not your typical praise and worship collection. You probably can't sing the songs in Sunday worship. But you will sing them in your car! You will sing them in praise to God! It tells of our relationship with a loving God in spite of our frailties. Some people will miss the soul searching, healing ministry Jars of Clay inspires if they don't think. Fortunately, the sound is soooo awsome that listening to all the songs over and over is not a problem. Two years after I first heard this CD, it is still my #1 pick... period. After several years of feeling that I would "sacrifice" musical and poetic content for the sake of wholesomeness (ie: CCM was sub-par), I am thrilled that CDs like this prove CCM is now the crem-de-la-crem!

After hearing Jars of Clay's first single off this CD, "Flood", on the radio, I immediatly wanted to hear more. When I heard the CD I was sold. I knew that this CD and band would be one of my favorites for a long time to come.

The CD starts off with "Liquid" which has an almost creepy gregorian chant in it. The acoustic guitars then come in and that sets the sound for the rest of the CD. This CD consists of acoustic guitars and on some songs, "Flood" for example, violens. The Jars get their distinct acoustic sounds from tuning their guitars differently than is standard. This simple task creates an incredibly wonderful sound.

The music is strong and the lyrics are incredibly deep. Ranging from the depiction of crucifiction ("Liquid") to child abuse ("He") to a love song ("Love Song for a Savior"). Along with the rich lyrics are vocals that easily convey the emotions of the songs. With a great lead vocalist (Dan Haseltine) and beautiful background vocals (Steve Mason and Charlie Lowell) you feel touched by each song.

The music, lyrics, and vocals just work nearly perfectly on this album which includes my favorite song, "Worlds Apart." This song took the longest to write on the album. The band wanted to make sure the lyrics and music was perfect. I couldn't agree more. If you love music with great acoustic guitars then you will love this. If you love "pop" or "rock" then you will enjoy this as well. This is a multi-faceted CD that everone should hear.

Jars of Clay took the Christian music industry by storm in 1995 when they burst onto the scene with this CD. Everyone was listening to it and talking about it. Being a leader who loves to be ahead of the trends...I bought the CD earlier this year.

Ok, ok, so I'm stubborn. I willingly admit I was an idiot for not getting this CD sooner. It's great! The combination of stringed instruments into a rock sound is worth the price alone. But the lyrics are great. Heartfelt and poetic, they take several listenings and some thought to understand, unlike most music out there today. Personally, I'm drawn to the helplessness apart from God of "Like a Child," the prayer of submission of "Worlds Apart," and the reliance (and fun) of "Flood."

Every song here in enjoyable. I wish I'd gotten it sooner so I could have enjoyed it longer. I'm certainly going to give their other CD's a try.

Has a better song than, "Love Song for a Savior," ever been written by a contemporary christian artist/group? Doubtful. I narrowly missed attending Greenville college (located in the remote corn fields of southern illinois) during the same year the Jars guys were there. I own an indie copy of the Cd the rest of Jars worshipping world knows as their self-titled debut. Believe it or not, the songs on "Jars of Clay" sounded even better before they were re-mastered, re-cut, and re-produced for mass market appeal. What I love about the songs on this album is that the messages are so subtle, yet so poignant. Their songs are actually parables. Check out, "Boy on a string" with lyrics like, "watching the life that he created run away." This is a powerful statement with a deeper application than the sadness felt by a puppet maker upon losing his most prized creation. This is a wonderfully creative and emotionally powerful description of God's longing for the people He's fashioned with His own hands to remain in relationship with Him, only to suffer the loss of the fellowship of our hearts time and time again throughout history. This album is filled with hidden song writing masterpieces like this. To think that these songs were written by 19 and 20 year olds is staggering. Consider this lyric from "Love Song for a Savior," "a great salvation.... calls to the people, who stare into nowhere and can't fill the chains on their souls." Whoa, the weight of the truth conveyed here is strongly felt. If there's a central theme encapsulating the music on this CD, or any Jars CD, it would best be described as an artful portrayal of the human experience in light of the love God has for us all. There is so much hype surrounding this band that it's difficult to focus on what's really breathtaking about their music, which is its ability to paint such stunning pictures of God's heart for frail human beings. Buy this CD for yourself and for everyone you consider a friend. Enjoy.

Jars of Clay's debut album is so good that its one of those albums that you can listen to in its entirety and not skip a track. The album is that good. Dan Haseltine provides strong yet subtle vocals, Greg Howell effectively works his guitar, and Adrian Belew's production ranks among his best. The group implements beautiful additions to their music, like the Gregorian chant in "Liquid", the violin solo in "Boy on a String", and the string sections in "Flood" and "Blind". Besides the two well-known tracks on the album, "Flood" and "Liquid", every other track is a gem in its lyrics and music. Thankfully the group did not overbear their spiritual message, but kept it simple and sweet. My personal favorite on the album is "He", an incredibly moving song about finding hope in God in the midst of doubt. Everything just meshed together well on this album, and it remains one of my favorites. A must buy not only for fans of Contemporary Christian music, but for all music listeners.

Let me first state that I am Jewish and I think this is one of the most beautiful cds I have ever heard. Of course the lyrics aren't really for me... but the music and the singing and the musicianship is incredible. Amazing band. Recommended for anyone who loves awesome music, even if you're not Christian.

After listening to all of Jars of Clay CDs, I believe this title,the first of the pack, to be the best. The lyrics, written somewhat like poetry, make the CD worth listening to over and over and over. We've owned this CD since 1995 and it continues to get played every week in our house. The lyrics are sometimes obscure; which I love to listen to and try to figure out the orginal meaning the band was trying to get across. Depending on the mood I'm in, I can find a different meaning for the same song. I never knew this CD was popular on the pop radio stations. It doesn't surprise me since Jars of Clay is no typical Chrisitan band. "HE" tends to be my favorite song with its soulful woes on the pain of trying to be perfect. The times when I feel the need to connect with God, I turn off the lights, sit in my glider rocking chair, and close my eyes while listening to the lyrics glide with the music playing. Time after time, I find tears running down my face by the end of the CD. When I was in labor with my first child last year, this CD was the only type of music I could stand to listen to. I turned up the volume full blast, shut my eyes, and endured the pain. That is what this CD makes you do - shut out the outside world and focus on God!

1995 saw the debut of Jars of Clay with this self-titled release. Nearly a decade after its release, Jars first album remains their best. The obvious crowd favorite here is "Flood" (and with good reason), which gained airplay on MTV in addition Contemporary Christian and mainstream radio. Other notable tracks include "Liquid," "Sinking," "Blind," "Worlds Apart," "Boy on a String" and "Love Song for a Savior." Jars of Clay is one of the best bands to emerge in the Contemporary Christian Music arena over the last decade, and this album delivers the proof. I've enjoyed each of the band's releases, but this one is, by far, the best.

I first got in touch with Jars of Clay by downloading "Love Song For A Savior" on a whim and promptly bought the album very soon after that. My reasoning for what was - comparatively - an example of impulse buying was that if what I'd heard was true about the rest of the album being more of the same then it would have to be worth the money. I was quite right.

This album is one of the better examples, not just of Christian rock, but of rock in general of the late 20th-early 21st centuries. The pop hooks which take up residence in your memory and don't go away are still there, so are the glorious vocal harmonies, but even without bringing a Christian perspective to the listening experience, the listener can see that there's certainly something more here than there is on the charts.

Despite being a Christian myself, I'm not a big fan of over-preachiness in Christian music - beyond the praise/worship style. Thus, it is a considerable advantage that, with the exception of "Love Song For A Savior" and "Art In Me", the Christian references can really only be picked up if you know what you're listening for. Certainly tracks like "Liquid" and "Flood" seem to be talking about some kind of faith, but then again, the secular listener could easily think of them as rehashing the sorts of themes that most modern rock acts visit once or twice every album.

The music and lyrics here are superb, there's simply no other word for them. I maintain my belief that the majority of the album sounds like the restrained parts of Creed's songs, but that's not one which has much agreement among other people who've heard both acts. Creed-like or not, Jars Of Clay have taken the acoustic sound and shining harmonies of the best folk-rock and adapted them to the modern rock sound. There are some moments - especially on "Flood" and "Liquid" - where a little more bombast may have helped the song forward a bit, but that could so easily have diluted the message of these songs. Other reviewers have mentioned the Gregorian chant sample in "Liquid", and that in itself is worth the price of admission, in the right setting, the effect is literally spine-tingling.

Jars are also not afraid to experiment with their sound, adding in strings where needed and even samples of children's voices to create a multi-layered work.

While the songs on the album are richly deserving of a 5-star rating, one star has to be removed for the "hidden track" at the end of "Blind". This track is simply a collection of snippets of the orchestra used in some songs tuning up and some half-obscured voices talking about exactly how different parts should sound. While the album would certainly not be very long without it, the time could easily have been made up by taking the time to record some extra songs rather than recording these "outtakes".

All in all, a very worthwhile purchase indeed. From a Christian perspective it's great to hear these young men who clearly have a mission and aren't afraid to share it, and the non-Christians who will hear it will be pleasantly surprised that the word "Jesus" is barely ever mentioned.