OK, sit back because we got a lot of ground to cover. Music From The
North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology is the first-ever career-spanning
collection from the Jayhawks, a Minneapolis band formed by Gary Louris and Mark
Olson. From their debut in 1989 through five albums that followed, including
their last one, 2003’s Rainy Day Music, the Deluxe Edition
triple-disc set includes rarities, outtakes, demos, live stuff and even a cut
from their indie self released debut. The third disc is a deluxe DVD containing
six music videos and live concert footage. Music From The North Country: The
Jayhawks Anthology might be all you’ll ever need from a band called “Alt
country,” “Americana” and even “No Depression.”
The first disc begins with two from the Jayhawks’ second album, 1989’s
Blue Earth. The plaintive harmonica and infamous harmonies
of Olson and Louris open into a countrified Simon and Garfunkle-like “Two
Angels.” The second track, “Ain’t No End,” is slightly
heavier with a solid lyric, sloppy guitar and that big snare sound that one
learns to love listening to this band. The third album, 1992’s Hollywood
Town Hall, is represented by “Waiting For The Sun,” “Martin’s
Song,” “Clouds” and “Settled Down Like Rain.”
Of these, “Martin’s Song” has a hook-filled chorus and some
sweet piano work. “Clouds” and “Settled Down Like Rain”
employ a neato organ vibe with that big snare and harmonies. “Blue,”
one at their best, comes from 1995’s Tomorrow The Green Grass.
Acoustic guitars replace that big heavy snare along with a few horns and strings
that help flesh out the sound.
“Trouble” brings some quiet in its Beatlesque approach. “Big
Star” is noisy but not so unique to what else follows. “The Man
Who Loved Life” rounds out this trio of tunes from 1997’s Sound
Of Lies, an album that waved good-bye to Olson. “Man” plums
Beatle territory, but is more realized then anything up to this point, though
it might have been better served if it was shorter. Of the three Smile
tracks, “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” is the snappiest, though
“What Led Me To This Town” does have some killer “oohs”
and lilting piano. The last four tunes are from Rainy Day Music,
the 2003 release and the latest of regular releases from the Jayhawks.
There’s the decent “Tailspin” and “All The Right Reasons”
with a pretty damn great Buddy Holly-like softness and a hint of Alabama. “Save
It For A Rainy Day” is light and jangly, while “Angelyne”
is a big band number, though it seems the band lost that too-up-front snare
on these latter-day tunes (with Olson out of the picture) — preferring
the acoustics to chunk them along.
The seoncd, rarities CD is 20-tunes strong. As with any bunch like this, it
helps to be a big fan of the band as these are rough recordings at the very
best. “Falling Star,” from the band’s self-titled 1986 release
(often referred to as the Bunkhouse album for the label it was released on)
is pretty much a mix nightmare. Cal Hand’s pedal steel is simply way too
loud and twangy on this straight ahead country tune.
The previously unreleased “Old Woman From Red Clay” is basically
the demo of what is considered the band’s classic, the aforementioned
“Two Angels,” Elsewhere, “That’s The Bag I’m In”
is a simple acoustic guitar and vocal cover of a Fred Neil tune — real
swarmy, wise-ass stuff from a KFAI radio session in 1989. “Stone Cold
Mess,” an unreleased jaunty track from the Hollywood Town Hall
sessions, later became the slower love song on “A Break In The Clouds”
from Smile.
“Mission on 2nd” might be one of the best here on both discs, soft
and perfect, with vocals and guitars from Olson and Louris. It makes one think
what a complete album of acoustic pieces from these guys would be like. “Lights”
is from a benefit album for Olson’s’ wife (and written by her) Victoria
Williams, diagnosed with MS in 1992. The band does a great cover here, with
a subtle Karen Grotberg piano easily missed if you’re not listening for
it.
I absolutely love the wah-wah guitar on the uncharacteristic “Darling
Today” from the Blown Away soundtrack of 1994. The band gets country on
J.D. Loudermilk’s “Break My Mind” (Loudermilk wrote “Tobacco
Road” and “Ebony Eyes,” among others), which appeared as the
B-side of their “Bad Time” single. “Get The Load Out”
fares a bit better, with dissonant Neil Young-like guitars and Don Heffington’s
punch on snare gets us up and going on what is probably the most straightforward
rock tune of the set. Not much the point of “Poor Little Fish (Early Version),”
other than the fact that it’s an outtake from the Sound Of Lies
era.
“Cure For This” is laconic and sad in a way nothing else here is.
This is the post-Olson band, coming to the end of the 90s, recording in their
rehearsal space. There’s nice backing vocals on “I Can Make It On
My Own” and “Rotterdam” is sweet with its glockenspiel, synth
and melodica — painting a nice ‘mind pic’ of places far away
from this band’s home turf. “Follow Me” could be Aerosmith,
benefiting from new drummer (at the time) Tim O’Reagan’s limited
vocal ability. “Help Me Forget” has a pretty neat reverb percussion
on a rather overt political acoustic number.
There’s a lot to digest from a band who had a lot to say and a lot of
music to give in that semi-rock country style. The two CDs might have benefited
from some culling, but this is a comprehensive set, with those eight videos
and liner notes written by Minnesota writer and Jayhawks fan PD Larson. For
everything Jayhawks, one need only look as far as Music From The North
Country: The Jayhawks Anthology.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
