The Jayhawks are one of those classic cases of coulda' been, woulda' been, and shoulda' been.
Based out of Minneapolis, and around the vocal and songwriting team of Mark Olson and Gary Louris, Jayhawks albums like Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass not only sold respectably well, but also earned them near universal critical raves from the nineties forward. They just were never quite able to grab the big, brass ring.
Other than that, the Jayhawks were a band that seemed to have nearly everything else going for them. They wrote picture perfect, more often than not quite-hooky songs that cradled a fine line between pop songcraft and country twang. The songs got modest airplay — mainly on Americana and adult-alternative stations — and the concerts, held mainly in theatre-sized venues, nearly always sold out.
When Mark Olson eventually left to follow his wife Victoria Williams in making a more folk-oriented noise, Louris carried on with the Jayhawks name for a few more years on albums like Smile and Rainy Day Music, before finally calling it a day. The thing is, when you look back on all of the great music the Jayhawks made — on songs like "Settled Down Like Rain," "I'd Run Away," "Blue," "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and the rest — it's just amazing these guys weren't a lot bigger than they were.
Hopefully Music from The North Country, an ambitious new career retrospective on the Jayhawks will change that. Overseen by Gary Louris, this 2 CD/1 DVD set was obviously assembled with loving care. You'd also be surprised at how many of these songs you might recognize, even if you don't necessarily know the Jayhawks by name.
Disc one plays like the proverbial greatest hits set by a band that never really had any. It opens with "Two Angels" and "Aint No End," two tracks from Blue Earth, the Jayhawks lone 1989 album for indie label Twin Tone. "Aint No End" in particular still sounds like the opening shot by a band destined for future greatness. Olson and Louris trade off on some of the sweetest harmonies this side of the Flying Burrito Brothers as the guitars crackle with all the warmth of a bristling campfire.
Four tracks from Hollywood Town Hall, the Jayhawks critically acclaimed 1992 debut for Rick Rubin's American Recordings follow, including the modest hits "Waiting For The Sun" and "Settled Down Like Rain." The latter focuses on the same mix of twangy guitars and gorgeous harmonies, while the former is buttressed by carnival-like keyboards that summon the spirit of sixties-era Dylan — an expansion of the Jayhawks sound that would continue for several more albums.
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