Overview
Jars of Clay's eponymous first full-length album is characterized by a combination of drum loops and acoustic guitar strumming that would become an early trademark of the band. Strings are also used prominently in most of the songs. Honest, intense, poetic, and harmonic with sonic influences as diverse as Gregorian chants, mandolin, and gothic layered vocals, Jars of Clay was a refreshing break from the pessimism and alterna-angst that dominated the mid-90s music scene.
The album was mostly self-produced, with the exception of "Liquid" and "Flood" which were produced by former King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew.
Several tracks from this album were hits on Christian radio, and as a result they have been staples of the band's live concerts ever since. The song "Flood" became an unexpected hit on mainstream pop and alternative rock radio as well, resulting in a brief period of mainstream popularity for the band during which they toured with artists such as Sting, The Samples and Matchbox Twenty, and were included in several movie soundtracks.
Most of this album consists of reworked versions of songs from the band's demo, Frail, which was recorded as a class project during their senior year of college. The song "He" appears to be almost identical to the original recording.
The songs "Sinking", "Flood", "Worlds Apart", and "Blind" were all unique to this release, as all other tracks had previously been released on the group's debut demo album Frail, and two songs from the demo did not make it to this album"—Fade to Grey" and EP's title track "Frail", though these were both later included on the group's follow-up, Much Afraid, which also introduced lyrics into the previously instrumental piece "Frail".
Notably, Jars of Clay is considered to be a landmark album in Christian rock, even though very few electric guitars are used, leading some to categorize Jars of Clay as folk-rock, alternative folk, or even pop instead.
The album was listed at No. 22 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.
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