Dann's Ultimate Jars of Clay Playlist

The year is 1995.  I was a member of one of the record clubs.  You would get some number of albums for a penny when you signed up.  To satisfy the agreement, you had to purchase a nominal number of albums over the following years.  People (including me) would sign up, buy the albums, and cancel our membership just to get the "X albums for a penny" deal.  At some point, they wised up by giving away "free" albums for every two or three albums you bought to keep people in "the club".

The monthly flyer had arrived.  Inside the back cover was where they would promote albums that had received critical but perhaps not any sales success.  

This month, Jars of Clay was the featured album.  The blurb said, "this is the best album you have never heard of". The blurb was correct and I became a lifelong fan.

While Jars of Clay is an overtly Christian band, their music easily reaches beyond that genre focus.  Their lyrics frequently include double meanings that can apply in both a religious and a secular framework making their music accessible to a broad range of people.  The best form of proselytizing is when you invite someone into a relationship where the "hard sell" isn't the only objective.

Jars of Clay uses their instruments and voices in complex arrangements that present a vast aural tapestry that most music aficionados should enjoy.

People will frequently talk about their "faith journey" or "belief journey".  It is more accurate to say that I have had a disbelief journey.  I was raised in the United Methodist Church and was a practitioner of irregular faith in both frequency and intensity.

I currently consider myself to be a religious skeptic.  That has been my position for many years.  There might be a higher power out there.  I'm unwilling to believe in ancient texts and modern declarations of faith.  I'd like a little proof.  

Testable.  Verifiable.  Proof.

Thomas had nothing on me.  George Carlin had a good point (Link).

Should I ever find myself willing to declare Christian faith in the future, it will be because of Jars of Clay and all of their albums that I still enjoy to this day.

This ultimate playlist covers all of their studio albums.  As always, this list represents my perspective on the band's work.  Your mileage will vary, but I think I am bringing you a pleasant encounter with some very talented musicians.

Buckle up.  Get ready for a great musical experience with the best band that you have (probably) never heard of.  (Playlist on Spotify)

Jars of Clay - self-titled debut album - Yes, this is almost the entire album.  There is a reason why they garnered so much early attention.

• Liquid
• Sinking
• Love Song for a Savior
• Like a Child
• He
• Boy On a String
• Worlds Apart
• Blind
• Flood
• Four Seven (hidden track)

Much Afraid - This album didn't generate the same commercial success as their first album.  But for my money, the music is just as good even if it is a little bit slower and more somber.  The sun shines a little brighter when you are climbing out of a dark valley.  Pun intended.  This is the whole album.  It's that good.  It won a Grammy!

• Overjoyed
• Fade to Grey
• Tea and Sympathy
• Crazy Times
• Frail
• Five Candles (You Were There)
• Weighed Down
• Portrait of an Apology
• Truce
• Much Afraid
• Hymn

If I Left the Zoo - Their second Grammy-winning album.  Again, this is the whole album.  This group makes it hard to find a song that doesn't demonstrate unique qualities.  Thus far, there isn't really a song that is simply "Jars-of-clay-ium"; generically JoC music but not otherwise notable.  It's all good stuff worthy of being heard again.  And again.

• Goodbye, Goodnight
• Unforgetful You
• Collide
• No One Loves Me Like You
• Famous Last Words
• Sad Clown
• Hand
• I'm Alright
• Grace
• Can't Erase It
• River Constantine

The Eleventh Hour - Their third, consecutive Grammy-winning album.  While I am glad to listen to the entire album, I cannot recommend all of the songs as noteworthy examples of what Jars of Clay can accomplish.  If you are enthusiastic about the previous three albums, then give this entire album a listen.  Otherwise, these are the highest of the highlights.

• Disappear
• Silence
• The Eleventh Hour
• The Edge of Water

Who We Are Instead - Unlike the prior albums, this one never received much attention from the Grammys.  I like it - as you can tell from the number of songs below.  Again, almost the whole album is listed below.  It's good stuff.

• Amazing Grace
• Trouble Is
• Faith Enough
• Show You Love
• Lesser Things
• I'm In The Way
• Jesus's Blood Never Failed Me Yet
• Jealous Kind
• Sing
• My Heavenly.

Redemption Songs - The guys switched things up for this album.  They reinvented a collection of traditional hymns and spirituals.  Old songs given a modern presentation.

• I Need Thee Every Hour
• God Will Lift Up Your Head
• I'll Fly Away
• Nothing But The Blood
• O Come and Mourn With Me
• It Is Well With My Soul
• On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand

Good Monsters - This is their seventh studio album.  For me, the songs speak to a constant state of anxiety of the moment in tension with long term aspirations for a better life.  Living as one part monster and one part seeking something better.  Musically, the band continues to evolve from their roots without losing the sound that first brought them to prominence.  As with most of their other albums, almost every song is listed below.  These guys are musical master-craftsmen.

It was born out of many experiences and conversations between addicts, failures, lovers, loners, believers, and beggars. And so the language of recovery and the honest discourse about our attempts to live apart from God and apart from each other is a theme. Engaging people who are doing the hard work of laying their lives open to others, and avoiding isolation, has allowed me to see that there is both immeasurable evil and unfathomable good mixing under my own skin and it is grace, mercy and freedom that allow me to not simply be a monster, but to be a good monster. - Dan Haseltine, Jars of Clay

• Work
• Dead Man (Carry Me)
• All My Tears
• Even Angels Cry
• There Is A River
• Good Monsters
• Oh My God
• Take Me Higher
• Mirrors & Smoke
• Light Gives Heat
• Water Under The Bridge

The Long Fall Back To Earth - This is canonically their ninth studio album.  It was supposedly nominated for a Grammy.  This album has a heavier synth-pop sound that isn't exactly in my musical wheelhouse.  The songs are good, but not necessarily memorable.  As with The Eleventh Hour, if you enjoy the rest of their songbook, then please give the full album a try.  The band is continually working with new approaches to their music in the hope of connecting with new listeners. 

• Weapons
• Two Hands
• Safe To Land

Christmas Songs - This is their eighth studio album.  But as it is all Christmas music, I elected to make it the last one in my review.  The songs are a collection of new arrangements of traditional Christmas standards, covers of modern songs, and a few Jars of Clay originals.  It is perfectly serviceable for Christmastime listening, but not terribly compelling beyond the season.

• Love Came Down At Christmas
• Hibernation Day
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• Christmastime Is Here

There you go.  That is my Ultimate Jars of Clay Playlist.  I hope you enjoy it.  I also hope you discover one of the best groups around that you probably have never heard of.