Jayhawks
(Rounder)
Anticipation for a reunion had rarely been greater than for the Jayhawks' revival. Reissues of the band's early albums and singer/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson's pairing on Ready For The Flood in 2008 hinted it might happen, but with drummer Tim O'Reagan, keyboardist Karen Grotberg and bassist Marc Perlman back in this fold, it's obviously official.
The trademark ingredients that turned Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass into seminal classics are retained via Olson's yearning vocals, the sun splashed harmonies and their adept meld of Americana, vintage West Coast rock, strings and psychedelia. Likewise, the songs boast the communal feel of Olson's Creekdippers, with added echoes of CSN, the Byrds and even Jeffersons Airplane and Starship wafting through "Stand Out in the Rain," "Guilder Annie" and "Closer to Your Side" respectively. Still, they tap their own template in songs like the sweeping "Hide Your Colors" and the elegiac title track. "I want to make something for you that brings you joy," Olson coos on the latter. Clearly, he's achieved his goal.
DOWNLOAD: "Hide Your Colors," "Closer to Your Side" LEE ZIMMERMAN
