The Jayhawks
Rainy Day Music
»
The Jayhawks
Rainy Day Music
American/ Lost Highway Records, 2004
RiYL: Bob Dylan, Byrds, Wilco |
But things have a funny way of working out, don't they? After 1995's Tomorrow The Green Grass, the band's second critically acclaimed LP for Rick Rubin's American label, chief singer/songwriter Mark Olson departed the group, sending the Jayhawks into a strange tailspin for nearly two years. The refurbished group, this time with Louris leading the way, surfaced in 1997 with the dark and scratchy Sound Of Lies, an album that owed a lot to Wilco's 1996 masterpiece Being There, but seemed forced.
Three years later, the Louris-led Jayhawks released Smile, an unheralded album that was stuck between the folksy, Byrds-influenced numbers that characterized the Olson/Louris Jayhawks and the drum loops and pop experiments that permeated Wilco's latest Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Smile basically came out before the masses were ready for such an experiment. Like Brian Wilson ahead of him, Louris seemed to get beat to the punch, if you will, in his recordings. Although Smile literally presaged such Wilco tunes as "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," it just wasn't as consistent and fully realized as Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy's vision. I wonder if Louris confined himself to his bedroom for days after hearing the intro to "Heavy Metal Drummer," thinking to himself, "that damned Tweedy's done it again! First he steals my genre, now he steals my new ideas!!!"
(Well, I'm not trying to paint Tweedy as a "borrower" quite like David Bowie, but it is just a little coincidental that Wilco is now carrying the mantle that everyone had initially pinned on the Jayhawks. I digress…).
So what's next for Louris? A country/trip-hop record? A loud guitar-riff extravaganza? Well, no, and certainly not. If anything, Rainy Day Music should put the Jayhawks back on the map, not for pushing the envelope forward, though, but for going back to basics.
To long-time Jayhawks fans, the new album -- almost entirely acoustic -- is a welcome return to form. For those who regretted Olson's departure and Louris's move to a more classic-rock sound, Rainy Day Music will be much-needed tonic. Songs like the opener (and closer) "Stumbling Through The Dark," "All The Right Reasons" and "Eyes Of Sarahjane" would've fit well on any of the Olson-era albums.
But for the newbies, tunes like "Tailspin," "Save It For A Rainy Day" and "Come To The River" are a much more rootsy form of the pop tunes Louris tried so desperately to write on the past two albums.
Simply put, Rainy Day Music is the album everyone knew Louris could put together, and that it's so down-to-Earth is icing on the proverbial cake. Not that every tune is flawless, but it's so approachable and accessible that this is one of those albums that'll end up in your 5-CD disc player for five months without you even realizing it.
The album starts strong with an electrified version of "Stumbling Through The Dark," a catchy tune co-written with Matthew Sweet. The song definitely sets the stage for what's to come, with a quick flutter of the guitar opening the tune to the crescendo chorus.
From there, Louris hits a stride with the Dylan-esque "Tailspin," the cheesy love ballad "All the Right Reasons" and "Save It For A Rainy Day," the first single. "Rainy Day" is certain to go down with such notable Olson-era tunes like "Blue" and "Waiting For The Sun," which Tom Petty ripped off a few years back in "Mary Jane's Last Dance."
The album lulls slightly in the middle, with "One Man's Problem" really the only downer of the whole set. Drummer Tim O'Reagan checks in with the solid yet unspectacular "Don't Let The World Get In Your Way," quickly and abruptly followed by Louris' best Chris Robinson impression in "Come To The River."
But it is the last six songs that make Rainy Day Music. Starting with "Angelyne," an ode to another failed relationship, Louris finds himself in rare form. His achingly beautiful soprano is so pure and real on "Angelyne" that its as if his voice itself is telling another story.
"Angelyne, forgive me / We threw it all away / You could never stand / living with a man / Who could only lead you halfway," Louris hymns, as the song ends with the repeated mantra of "I'm nobody's man…"
On "Madman," Louris recalls the Roger McGuinn-David Crosby era Byrds, a folk tune highlighted by simple percussion and solid acoustic guitars. Louris and O'Reagan find themselves in perfect harmony throughout the tune, about flinging away the world's problems.
"Darling, take off your make-up / Gently, let down your hair / We'll stand by the grave / And sip our champagne / Toast the madman / singing down in the alley."
The highlight, though, is easily "You Look So Young," a pensive, moody number that could either be written for Louris' young son or himself. "You look so young / have you ever been afraid?" Louris asks. Later, he croons "Selfish thoughts and selfish reasons / lead to my own demise / once this world is taken from me / stripped bare, my soul will rise."
In the end, Rainy Day Music could finally be the break-out that has eluded Louris and the Jayhawks for oh-so-many years. It's about damn time.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.