The new Jayhawks album has a lot going for it. A bunch of strong songs from Gary Louris' pen, those lovely three-part harmonies, Bob Ezrin, who produced the excellent Smile, producing, and the impressive skills of the core band- Jen Gunderman's perfect keyboards, Tim O'Reagan's drumming, Marc Perlman's bass, Louris' guitar and everyone's vocals.
Most essentially for a Jayhawks record, Louris' songs make the biggest difference, but Ezrin may deserve a thick slice of the credit pie. His work on Smile helped make it a highlight in the band's discography, and this new one compares most easily to Smile in its upbeat sound, which is a good thing.
There are many positive reviews you can read if you want to parse the individual songs. Upbeat lead single Keeping Our Heads Above Water, rocking numbers Kingston Girl, Always And A Day and American Midnight, political and rocking Mr. Lincoln, the wistful title track, those harmonies on Hands Upon The Wheel. There aren't really any weak tunes.
If you're not sure it stacks up with their best work, rest assured it does. That means it comes mighty close to the three that Marc Olson made with the band- Hollywood Town Hall, Tomorrow The Green Grass, and Mockingbird Time, and right there with Smile, Rainy Day Music, Back Roads and Abandoned Motels and XOXO. Just to be complete, that also makes it considerably better than Paging Mr. Proust, and especially Sound Of Lies.
No comments:
Post a Comment