Jars of Clay

It's difficult enough to juggle spiritual and worldly pursuits in everyday life, much less pop music. But Jars of Clay manage to fold the concerns of contemporary Christian recording into a crossover-friendly alt-rock appeal — the massive popularity of songs like their mid-'90s smash "Flood" illuminated a path down which many of their like-minded brothers and sisters happily followed. Even today, few bands balance sacred and secular so skillfully, so while the jangle-pop flow of "Love Song for a Savior" tends toward a more straightforward offering of devotion, the harmony-soaked tenderness of "No One Loves Me Like You" presents a modern parable by joining a love of God with its more earthly expressions.

Jars of Clay's groundbreaking music continues in Next Steps.

"I Need You" may be a common pop sentiment, but in the hands of Jars of Clay, the statement — wreathed in a richly textured alt-rock sensibility — explores the deep spiritual desire for a divine presence in our day-to-day lives. Finding inspiration in the everyday is the band's special talent, whether they're revealing the beating sacred heart beneath a '70s radio classic with a cover of America's "Lonely People," letting a spare acoustic setting highlight a new perspective on "These Ordinary Days," or engaging in wide-scale communion with a lovely recording of "Oh My God."

A sharp U2 cover awaits, among our Jars of Clay Deep Cuts.

Here, we discover exactly why Jars of Clay has picked up such a weighty following both sides of the theological divide, courtesy of two revealing covers: first there's an especially tender treatment of "Dig," originally by California-based Adam Again; then the band wades confidently into U2 territory, with a surprisingly swampy version of "All I Want Is You," which merges the touching source material with a touch of the kinky swagger you'd more likely associate with "Personal Jesus"-era Depeche Mode. GRAMMY®-winning gospel singer Ashley Cleveland joins her fellow travelers for a gothic, folkish stroll though the iTunes Originals cut, "All My Tears."

Taking its name from a passage in the second book of Corinithians which speaks of "treasure in jars of clay" — a metaphor for spirituality within the fragile, often imperfect, physical body — this seminal Contemporary Christian band makes glorious music with a truly broad appeal. Their name provides a fitting reference, since the band celebrates the divine by blending praise and pop into songs that work equally well in the worlds of the sacred and the secular, with an alt-rock sensibility that powers tunes like the hard-charging "Work" and a subtle yet unswerving faith that makes the exaltation of "God Will Lift Up Your Head" exciting even to those who might not otherwise tune into the message. Our Jars of Clay Essentials spotlight the band's very best, from early-days wonders like "Worlds Apart" to 2009's "Two Hands."