For as long as the Jayhawks have been making music, the music critic part of me has been wrestling with their place in the alt. country world that they, among others, helped define.
Wanting to like them is easy. At a time when many of us were looking for something "country" that we could hang our hat on while Top 40 country became a safe haven for hair metal has-beens. The 'Hawks draw from all the right influences, but, in their telling of the story all the edges have been sanded down.
In the voice of Gary Louris are echoes of Texas troubadour and gotdarn national treasure Joe Ely. While each seems to have arrived at much the same destination, Louris seems to have flown while Ely drove all the way in the middle of the night with the top down and the pedal pushed through the floor.
Bare minimum, if you're gonna write a song called "Gonna Be A Darkness", shouldn't the song sound...dark or foreboding in some way? Kick over a chair or something, May as well write a song cvalled ferris wheel evocative will be left wondering what the song might have sounded like with a little Steve Earle rocket sauce instead of whatever virgin coconut oil Jakob Dylan might've been using.
Most strikingly, keyboardist Karen Grotberg is expected to carry a lot of the weight early on for what we soon discover is her debut as a lead vocalist on a Jayhawks record. "Here, re-cut these Natalie Maines vocals, no bigee." Maines, of course, co-wrote and sang on three of the album's first four songs in their original form. Seek them out but watch out for - CRASH! - jaws hitting the floor.
There's something very strange about having to seek out a Natalie Maines solo album (Mother) to hear the edgier version - to say nothing of the Dixie Chicks' Taking The Long Way ("Everybody Knows" and "Bitter End").
Oddly enough, while this review sat unfinished on my laptop like a thread dangling from a sweater, two musician friends mentioned the album to me in different but similar ways:
The first said he's actually started playing along with the album to give the songs the kick they need while the other claims to have twice gotten up out of their chair to crank up the distortion on Louris's amp.
And that's when it hit yours truly like a ton of bricks!
This album, like the band itself, is one "guitar-slinger" short of loin-tingling greatness. Imagine a guy like Johnny Hickman (Cracker) Charlie Sexton (Dylan) or Buddy Miller (Buddy Miller) lurking in the shadows, shooting off sparks as needed.
As talented as he may be, Louris cannot be both Mick and Keith.
Until then, to all who play guitar, this record may as well be called "You Bought It, You Finish It".
Tags:
six shooter needed
Aside from the ridiculous comparison of Louris' and Joe Ely's voices - which begs the question: have you even heard them sing? - questioning Louris' guitar chops is laughable and pretty much invalidates any "criticism" here. Slamming The Jayhawks for being "one guitar slinger" short is absurd, especially since Louris is clearly one of the finest guitarists of our time, as anyone who has ever seen them live can attest to. As for "edginess," one need look no further that The Jayhawks last album, Paging Mr. Proust - a highlight in the band's catalog and full of flashy guitar work, adventurous stylistic explorations and even some sonic "sparks." Nice try but your review is missing....something. Better luck next time.
ReplyDeleteHow can you not HEAR the similarity between Louris and Ely? MInd you, it's not glaring. As a huge Butch Hancock fan, Louris has no doubt soaked up plenty of Ely over the years, to the point that my refined ear has picked up on it. Also, how is it a slam to offer FREE constructive criticism from which both band and fan benefit if actually taken to heart? Sadly, the only thing my review was missing was a bill for services rendered.
ReplyDeleteDarren Robbins