You know how it goes: a band hits a milestone (or a contractual obligation) and puts out their Greatest Hits record. Basically it's a compilation of songs you already have plus two new songs you don't have which force fans to buy an album of which they already have 90% of the songs.
Jars of Clay is not one of those bands. To celebrate two decades together as a band, they invited fans to choose two songs off of each of their albums (with the exception of The Shelter) and then Jars re-recorded all of the songs for a retrospective album called, appropriately, 20.
First, it's a great album. Jars meant a great deal to me throughout high school and college and the album manages to take me back to those formative years while also offering something fresh and new. If you are a fan of Jars of Clay, you should really check out 20. Here's the track listing:
- Fade to Grey (Much Afraid)
- Worlds Apart (Jars of Clay)
- Tea and Sympathy (Much Afraid)
- Silence (The Eleventh Hour)
- No One Loves Me Like You (If I Left the Zoo)
- Collide (If I Left the Zoo)
- Jealous Kind (Who We Are Instead)
- God Will Lift Up Your Head (Redemption Songs)
- Ghost in the Moon (new song)
- If You Love Her (new song)
- Trouble Is (Who We Are Instead)
- Something Beautiful (The Eleventh Hour)
- I Need Thee Every Hour (Redemption Songs)
- Boys (The Long Fall Back to Earth)
- Dead Man (Good Monsters)
- Oh My God (Good Monsters)
- Safe to Land (The Long Fall Back to Earth)
- Inland (Inland)
- Love in Hard Times (Inland)
- Love Song for a Savior (Jars of Clay)
That's a solid album. There's not a bad song in the bunch. Yet I look at that and I can't help but think of things that I'd tweak. This is not to say that I know more than other fans. I am just using my internet-given right to suggest an alternative. I think that there are songs out there that are better representatives of their original albums (it is a career retrospective and thus songs should strongly evoke certain eras).
Also the album tends toward the mid tempo and slower songs, which makes the overall listen a bit unbalanced. There are some great upbeat songs in Jars' canon that could be added in. So let's take this on an album-by-album basis.
Jars of Clay
Keep "Worlds Apart" and "Love Song for a Savior"
Don't change a thing. "Worlds Apart" was probably the one non-negotiable on this album. It's not on there, we cordially riot. And why not "Flood"? It was their big hit, but twenty years later it doesn't seem to have the staying power of these two. Plus, "Flood" was re-recorded recently.
Much Afraid
Keep "Fade to Grey," Trade "Tea and Sympathy" with "Crazy Times"
This is one of the most perplexing to me. "Tea and Sympathy" is all well and good, but "Crazy Times" was probably the biggest hit on Much Afraid and a great upbeat song to boot. Easiest switch.
If I Left the Zoo
Keep "Collide," Trade "No One Loves Me Like You" for "Can't Erase It"
Zoo is Jars' quirkiest album (it's also their most underrated). It is when the band started to grow and broaden their sound. Thus the songs representing the album should capture that unique vibe. "Collide" gets this perfectly, but "No One Loves Me Like You" could easily slide into several other Jars albums and not miss a beat. You could go with "Goodbye, Goodnight": perhaps the most delightfully odd song they've ever recorded. "Unforgetful You" was a good hit, but is a bit more poppy. So let's go with the deep track "Can't Erase It," which well embodies the creativity and experimentation found on Zoo.
The Eleventh Hour
Keep "Silence," Trade "Something Beautiful" for "Disappear"
"Silence" is a Hall of Famer. "Something Beautiful," while fine, is a little bit sleepy. It was also re-recorded on Furthermore. So let's go with "Disappear," the track whose opening riff indicated the more arena-ready direction of The Eleventh Hour.
Who We Are Instead
Keep "Trouble Is," Trade "Jealous Kind" for "Amazing Grace"
Who We Are Instead has a fantastically distinct Americana sound in Jars' canon. The presence of "Trouble Is" was a incredibly pleasant surprise that captures that vibe perfectly. For the switch: I love "Jealous Kind." The final chorus makes my hair stand up, but the song is in the same vein of "Worlds Apart," "Silence," and "Oh My God." "Amazing Grace" still has Ashley Cleveland on backing vocals and much better captures the musical style of WWAI. And just so you know I'm not picking favorites, my top two from this album are actually "Sunny Days" (which meant a lot to EA and I when we were dating in college) and "Only Alive."
Redemption Songs
Keep "I Need Thee Every Hour" and "God Will Lift Up Your Head"
Though I'm still getting used to the late era Beatles re-imagining of "God Will Lift," these are perfect choices. Although if you get ahold of The Blind Boys of Alabama to re-record "Nothing But the Blood," then you swap that out for "I Need Thee." Because, come on: The Blind Boys of Alabama.
Good Monsters
Keep "Oh My God," Trade "Dead Man" for "Work"
Along with If I Left the Zoo and Who We Are Instead, Good Monsters is one of my favorites. "Oh My God" is just an incredibly raw and beautiful song. In fact, the entire album has this exceptionally raw honesty to it (which says something for Jars). To better represent that, trade out the great "Dead Man" for the hard-driving and pleading "Work" which is probably their best rock song.
The Long Fall Back to Earth
Keep "Boys," Trade "Safe to Land" for "Closer"
I'm a dad of two boys, so "Boys" only grows more resonant for me. I switched out "Closer" for "Safe to Land" because its synth-iness captures the overall musical style of Long Fall a bit better.
Inland
Keep "Inland" and "Love in Hard Times"
This is the album of which I have heard the least, so I don't feel like I can suggest alternatives to these fine songs. Though I think we can all agree that the chance to follow up "Tea and Sympathy" with "Loneliness and Alcohol" was a missed opportunity.
Bonus: Songs from Compilations
"This Road" (City on a Hill) and "All I Want is You" (In the Name of Love)
Like most bands, Jars has a bunch of songs that never appeared on their albums, so I figured let's pick two: the beautiful benediction "This Road" and their bluesy cover of U2's "All I Want is You."
So there's my two cents. Tweaking aside, 20 is a fantastic album and you should definitely check it out. Feel free to offer your track changes in the comments below.