The choir likewise shows up on "Omaha Nights," backing Louris as he sings great lines like "all the days are numbered/are they slipping through my fingers/am I singing melodies meant for another singer?" and my personal favorite here, "the only way to heaven mama, is the power of devotion." Amen, brother Gary.

On "She Only Calls On Sundays" Louris sings a lament to a lover who only calls "when she's had her fill of red wine, cigarettes, and prescription pills" as a nice pedal steel guitar punctuates the broken-hearted sentiment.

Two of the most interesting tracks here are "Black Grass" and "I Wanna Get High." The former track floats along in a cloud of Beatle-ish psychedelia with Louris' studio treated vocal buttressed by swelling keyboards. The latter is a slow bluesy dirge that also happens to feature some of the best guitar sounds on the album. Here, Louris' light and airy vocal is countered by dark guitar rumblings that are somewhat reminiscent of Link Wray.

The song that probably matches classic Jayhawks most closely here is the title track. With a sound that could have come straight from Hollywood Town Hall, Louris celebrates the "Vagabonds" of the world who do things like "grow marijuana under the bridge" as a lilting pedal steel and lonesome harmonica drift through the simple, understated arrangement. As if to drive the point home, the lyrics even reference "folky singers with cold harmonicas."

The band Louris has assembled for this album also sounds great throughout. If they are playing with him on his current solo tour, I'd highly recommend checking it out.

So if you liked the Jayhawks, you should love Vagabonds. Speaking of Louris' former band, rumors are also flying that Louris is planning to reunite with his Jayhawks partner Mark Olson for a series of dates later this year — although they will not be billed as the Jayhawks.

In the meantime, this album should more than satisfy fans of that great, if sometimes under-appreciated, band.