The Essential Jars of Clay is a greatest hits album from Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...

 that was released on September 4, 2007 through Essential Records

Essential Records (Christian)

Essential Records is a Contemporary Christian record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It is a division of a major label, Sony Music Entertainment.-History:...

/Legacy Recordings

Legacy Recordings

Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...

. This is the last release (along with a simultaneous release of Live Monsters

Live Monsters

Live Monsters is an EP recorded and released by Jars of Clay. The EP contains songs that were recorded live on their tour in support of their latest studio album, Good Monsters. At first release, the only method of purchasing the album was either at one of their concerts or through Jars Of Clay's...

) from the band through Essential Records as they have since moved on to the Nettwerk Music Group's Gray Matters imprint. The album is part of the Sony BMG series The Essential, which is a series of greatest hits collections.

Track listing

Note: All songs written by Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Matt Odmark, & Stephen Mason, unless otherwise noted

Disc one

1. "Flood
   Flood (song)
   "Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut...
   
   " - 3:30
2. "Liquid" - 3:31 (Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, Miguel DeJesus, Josh Cougle, Matt Bronleewe)
3. "Worlds Apart
   Worlds Apart (Jars of Clay song)
   "Worlds Apart" is a song written and recorded by Jars of Clay. The song is the fifth and final radio single from the band's self-titled debut album. The band has mentioned that it took several months to finally complete the song to the form that it appears in on the album. This was due to the...
   
   " - 5:18
4. "Love Song for a Savior" - 4:45 (Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, Matt Bronleewe)
5. "Tea and Sympathy" - 4:46 (Dan Haseltine, Mark Hudson, Greg Wells)
6. "Fade to Grey
   Fade to Grey (Jars of Clay song)
   "Fade to Grey" is the first song ever written by Jars of Clay. It originally was recorded for the group's debut demo album, Frail, which was released in 1994...
   
   " - 3:33 (Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark, Stephen Mason, Charlie Lowell, Matt Bronleewe)
7. "Crazy Times
   Crazy Times
   "Crazy Times" is a song recorded and performed by Jars of Clay. The song was a writing collaboration between band members Dan Haseltine and Stephen Mason with songwriters Mark Hudson and Greg Wells. It was the first single from their second studio album, Much Afraid. The single fared well in the...
   
   " - 3:35 (Dan Haseltine, Stephen Mason, Mark Hudson, Greg Wells)
8. "Five Candles (You Were There)
   Five Candles (You Were There)
   "Five Candles " is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is the second radio single off of their 1997 studio album Much Afraid. The song was initially written for the soundtrack to the motion picture Liar Liar, starring Jim Carrey...
   
   " - 3:49
9. "Goodbye, Goodnight" - 2:54
10. "Grace" - 4:31 (Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark, Stephen Mason, Charlie Lowell, Mark Hudson, Greg Wells)
11. "Can't Erase It
    Can't Erase It
    "Can't Erase It" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. The song was the sixth and final radio single in promotion of the band's third studio album, If I Left the Zoo...
    
    " - 3:33
12. "Unforgetful You
    Unforgetful You
    "Unforgetful You" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It was the first mainstream and Christian radio single from their 1999 studio album, If I Left the Zoo. As the track was produced by Dennis Herring, many similarities in the sound and production styles are noticed with tracks from...
    
    " - 3:20
13. "I Need You
    I Need You (Jars of Clay song)
    "I Need You" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It was the first single from their 2002 studio album, The Eleventh Hour. The band stated that they took the same songwriting approach for this song as they did with "Love Song For A Savior" from their self-titled debut album. However,...
    
    " - 3:39
14. "Fly
    Fly (Jars of Clay song)
    "Fly" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It was the first mainstream single and second Christian radio single from their 2002 studio album, The Eleventh Hour...
    
    " - 3:19
15. "Silence" - 5:16
16. "Revolution
    Revolution (Jars of Clay song)
    "Revolution" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. The song is the third of four radio singles released in promotion of the band's The Eleventh Hour...
    
    " - 3:42
17. "Coffee Song" - 3:02
18. "New Math" - 3:20

Disc two

1. "Sunny Days
   Sunny Days (song)
   "Sunny Days" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is the second out of two radio singles from the band's 2003 studio album, Who We Are Instead...
   
   " - 3:30
2. "Tonight" - 3:39
3. "Shipwrecked" - 2:52
4. "Faith Enough" - 5:25
5. "Jealous Kind" - 4:09
6. "Needful Hands
   Needful Hands
   "Needful Hands" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. The song was recorded for the special event album Exodus, which also featured contributions from dc Talk, Sixpence None the Richer, and Third Day, among many other Christian artists. The single reached number one on the Christian...
   
   " (Acoustic Version) - 2:45
7. "Dig" - 3:15 (Gene Eugene, Greg Lawless, Riki Michele, Paul Valadez, Jon Knox)
8. "God Will Lift Up Your Head
   God Will Lift Up Your Head
   "God Will Lift Up Your Head" is a song recorded and performed by Jars of Clay. The song is a remake of a traditional hymn of the same name that was written by the 17th-century German hymnwriter Paul Gerhardt. Jars of Clay wrote the music and altered the translated lyrics slightly for the version...
   
   " - 4:22 (Paul Gerhardt, John Wesley, Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Matt Odmark, Stephen Mason)
9. "Work
   Work (Jars of Clay song)
   "Work" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is the second radio single from their 2006 studio album Good Monsters. The song was the 13th most played song on U.S. Christian Hit Radio stations in 2007. A live concert version of the song appears on the Live Monsters EP, which was...
   
   " - 3:54
10. "Oh My God" - 6:04
11. "Dead Man (Carry Me)
    Dead Man (Carry Me)
    "Dead Man " is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is the first radio single off of their 2006 studio album, Good Monsters...
    
    " - 3:19
12. "Mirrors & Smoke" - 3:58
13. "This Road
    This Road
    "This Road" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay that appears on the compilation album City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise that was released in 2000 through Essential Records. The song was also featured on the bonus CD that was packaged with the Brother Andrew-penned book...
    
    " - 5:07
14. "The Widowing Field" - 3:57
15. "Bethlehem Town" - 4:34
16. "The Little Drummer Boy" - 4:24 (Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone)

Compilation personnel

• Jeff Magid - producer
• Dave Donnelly - mastering (at DNA Mastering, Studio City, CA)
• Jim Parham - project direction
• Carol Bobolts - design

Track production

• Ron Aniello
  Ron Aniello
  Ron Aniello is an American; Grammy Award nominated, multi-award–winning, multi-platinum record producer. Some of the noteworthy artists that he has worked with include; Lifehouse, Barenaked Ladies, Guster, Jars of Clay, Days of the New, Sixpence None the Richer, Leigh Nash, Ashley Tesoro, Patti...
  
   - "Sunny Days", "Faith Enough"
• Robert Beeson - "Little Drummer Boy"
• Adrian Belew
  Adrian Belew
  Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
  
   - "Flood", "Liquid"
• Mitch Dane - "Tonight", "Shipwrecked", "Jealous Kind"
• Dennis Herring
  Dennis Herring
  Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. Herring owns a 24-track recording studio, Sweet Tea Studios, which is located in Oxford, Mississippi...
  
   - "Goodbye, Goodnight", "Grace", "Can't Erase It", "Unforgetful You"
• Steve Hindalong
  Steve Hindalong
  Steve Hindalong is an American drummer, percussionist, songwriter and producer best known for his work with the alternative rock band The Choir...
  
   - "This Road"
• Stephen Lipson
  Stephen Lipson
  Stephen J. Lipson is a musician and producer who has worked with numerous artists, including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Cher, Grace Jones, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Take That, Simple Minds, Lindisfarne, and Annie Lennox....
  
  - "Tea and Sympathy", "Fade To Grey", "Crazy Times", "Five Candles (You Were There)"
• Jars of Clay - All others ("Worlds Apart", "Love Song For A Savior", "I Need You", "Fly", "Silence", "Revolution", "Coffee Song", "New Math", "Jealous Kind", "Needful Hands", "Dig", "God Will Lift Up Your Head", "Work", "Oh My God", "Dead Man (Carry M)e)", "Mirrors & Smoke", "The Widowing Field", "Bethlehem Town", "Little Drummer Boy")

Photography

• Jeremy Cowart
• Kristen Barlow
• David Dobson
• Michael Wilson
• Jimmy Abegg
• Martyn Atkins