The Jayhawks
Smile
»
The Jayhawks
Smile
Columbia, 2000
RiYL: Wilco, Beach Boys, Sheryl Crow |
Man, that's some depressing stuff. Not surprising, though, considering Sound of Lies was the group's first record without the services of former singer/songwriter Mark Olson, who left the band in 1995 to spend time with his wife Victoria Williams. With Olson, the Jayhawks were the darlings of so-called No Depression rock and their 1995 release Tomorrow the Green Grass was called the Nevermind of the alt.country movement by some critics. Indeed, the Olson-led Jayhawks put out four records (two on Rick Rubin's Def American label) that drew comparisons to the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and country-rock visionary Gram Parsons. The songs were structured around the beautiful harmony vocals between Olson and Louris, as well as cascading chords and a simple beat.
That all changed, however, when Olson left the band. With Sound of Lies, Louris found himself in the director's chair for the first time, and the results were mixed at best. Gone were the folksy-rootsy ballads of the past. Louris, who admits to never even listening to country before he joined the Jayhawks, replaced the past with crunchy guitars, some drum loops, and a louder, rawer sound. In retrospect, it appears that Sound of Lies was one of those records that had to come out. Kinda like Wilco's debut A.M. in a sense. While certainly not a bad record, A.M. just doesn't compare to Wilco's later albums like Being There and Summerteeth. But without A.M., Wilco probably would never have gotten off the ground.
That's what's going on for the Jayhawks as well, apparently. While the group's new album Smile is not the classic that Wilco's Being There is, it is a much better, more consistent album than 1997's Sound of Lies. And boy, is it more optimistic. Whereas Sound of Lies contained songs about depression and coping with lost love, Smile has a much more positive feel. The first single of the album alone attests to that. The song, "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," maybe one of the catchiest songs Louris has written, and it makes Sound of Lies seem like it was released ten years ago.
Certainly Smile takes its risks, albeit with much more success than the previous record. Gary Louris has obviously been listening to his Beatles and Beach Boys records lately, as he dabbles in psychedelica in throughout the record. But what makes the album such a solid effort is the polished sound and that Louris didn't go overboard with experimentation. The album only has one downer, "Life Floats By," which sounds more like a Sheryl Crow/R.E.M. collaboration than anything else. But aside from that, Smile is a damn solid record.
And it's also a happier record. The doom and gloom that is prevalent throughout Sound of Lies has been replaced with poppy love songs like "Baby, Baby, Baby," and the soothing "A Break In The Clouds," which makes you wonder if Louris's apparent happiness is just a phase. "There's a break in the clouds / As I feel myself shiver / Still there's no light coming through / No reflections on the river."
But the album's crowning achievement is the schizophrenic "(In My) Wildest Dreams." The song itself just shouldn't work: drum loops, crunchy, fuzzy guitars, and minor-key piano? Recipe for disaster. But somehow it works without sounding completely absurd. But what makes the song most memorable is the lyrics, a brutally honest account of near-miss fame and fortune: "I saw you from a distance / And I heard them call your name / But you winked at me as if to say 'I'm sorry' / Yeah you looked at me as if to say 'I'm sorry'."
Smile may not have the lasting impact as Wilco's Being There, but it marks a startling step forward for a band that at one point was supposed to break alt.country into the mainstream, didn't, and nearly imploded.
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.