Nominated by: The Big Gee
Music club: Wander to Wozza's
I've enjoyed The Jayhawks off and on since 1997's Sound Of Lies. The alt-country, pop/rock stylings of the band are well within my wheelhouse.
Rainy Day Music escaped me at the time but it's one of their better albums, although they were down to a trio at the time. Gary Louris is definitely the main man, so it doesn't matter too much who the personnel are as it's his songs that dominate.
This album sounds a lot like their influences - Poco and CSN&Y. In fact I could have sworn that Madman was a long lost CSN&Y track, with Jerry Garcia on guitar.
The album gets off to a great start with Stumbling Through The Dark. A song so good it bookends the album. The band gets back to a more alt-country sound generally on this album with some banjo and pedal steel appearing at times, and the Jayhawks harmonies are great on this track and elsewhere.
So, all is well. No duds, no skips.
Favourite tracks - Stumbling..., Madman, Tampa To Tulsa (echoes of Ryan Adams on that one), and the six bonus tracks.
If I was a nit picky person I would point to the over-reliance on Gary Louris. His voice is fine but spread over the whole album, I do find myself yearning for a different lead voice at times. Which is why I much prefer the Golden Smog albums that he contributes to and which I'll eventually get around to selecting for my weekly WTWMC choice.
I know the Mighty Gee warned us off the extra tracks, but, call me perverse, I liked them much more than the actual album. They seem to have been joined to subsequent releases of the album so they are legit to comment upon.
There is something honest and natural about these demos, live versions, and acoustic tracks. Plus Fools On Parade is a welcome up tempo number (something that's missing from the actual album).
Nice one Gee!
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