Another Fine Day

Golden Smog

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 18, 2006)
• Original Release Date: July 18, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B000FKO3AI
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,418 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jeff Tweedy might carry the name recognition, but the rest of his band-on-the-side carries the mail on the fourth release from this Midwest all-star group. Though the Wilco leader teams with the Jayhawks' Gary Louris on a pair of nimble pop songs--the elegantly strummed "Listen Joe" and Kinks cover "Strangers"--it's Louris who's clearly at the head of the class with self-assured vocals ("Another Fine Day," "Think About Yourself"), lush harmonies ("Long Time Ago") and those unmistakable guitar leads ("Frying Pan Eyes"). Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy's obligatory rocker "Hurricane" is a high point, as is the album's lead track "You Make It Easy," which has Kraig Johnson warbling over a thumping piano lead and chunky fuzz guitar. But most welcome among the 15 songs are two contributions from Louris's fellow Jayhawk Marc Perlman: the refreshing "Corvette" and "Cure for This," a '60s-speckled pop song sung by Muni Loco, the wife of producer Paco Loco and the first female to grace a recording by Golden Smog. --Scott Holter

Product Description

It might sound like hype, but as hype nips at your ears every day from every corner, who gives a damn? You’re smart. Your BS detector is strong; take this missive with a grain of salt, but don’t talk yourself out of opening your ears to this mix-by-one-band-how-can-this-be-one-band? that fell from the skies of Puerto Santa Maria, Spain and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Start with Gary Louris and Kraig Jarret Johnson’s "You Make It Easy." A breezy love song about breezy commitment. Listen. To that solo. To those harmonies. Dare yourself not to sing along. Try to play "name the influences" and you will have fun but you will fail.

Then check out "Hurricane," and hear Dan Murphy, singing his guts out and having, like the title track he co-penned says, "another fine day." Dig Louris and Jeff Tweedy’s "Listen Joe," and how they sing to themselves and a long-gone friend, "surprise, surprise, everyone dies."

Listen. To what every new breed that comes along calls "old school," to sounds baked into these guys since the days of vinyl. Feel the embers of all the mystics, all the Gram Parsons and Eagles and Zeppelin and Buzzcocks and Flaming Lips and Gorillaz (Kraig’s fave of the moment) records and all the rest that they’ve ingested. Truly, these cats have forgotten more records than the rest of us have sold to the used record store.

"Don’t it blow your mind like the first time? The dream is never over," they ask, on "Corvette," with the exuberance of high-schoolers playing together in the garage for the first of many times. Listen. To "Corvette". Then listen to Louris’s "Gone". They have been through death and love and war and all the other vagaries of middle age in these new Middle Ages, and this is the sound of them coming out the other side – or at least trying to come out the other side – with friendship and rock ‘n’ roll as their guides.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING on a number of levels..., September 3, 2006

By	freereign (Ocean of Corn, MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

First thing I absolutely ADORE about this CD is that it sounds like a mix-tape. The songs are almost all collaborations, but bear the markings of the person who brought the demo to the sessions or such thing. Gary Louris is in fine voice as ever, and to his credit, really doesn't bring songs that evoke a Jayhawks-styled sound. Craig Johnson really has the hooks and arrangements going, with a POP-tastic track "5-22-02" really standing out (with its Suburbs-like horn vamping). Just try getting that one out of your head...
Tweedy actually plays a more minor role in this set, but the songs here are all so strong it suggests they really had a lot of material to choose from. If you listen to this without distraction, you'll catch a lot of the nuances and be hooked right away. If you listen once and think little of it, just spin it again the next day or so and after a few listens you'll find it very delightful. Timing-wise it was perfect: Released in the early days of summer, as it has a bright, cheerful, summery feel to it. Watch for an EP of some of the other "out takes" in coming months, and if you have a chance, catch their tour in September '06--I saw the Minneapolis show and was blown away at their set...

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of 06's Finest, August 20, 2006

By	Rick D. Moore "Music Connoisseur" (Delavan, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Damn. Now this is more like it. Up until now, supergroups were tarred with tarnished and gag inducing brush that Asia foisted upon the term back in the early 80's. And in their defense, Golden Smog had been content to release good music that somehow drifted underneath the radar of too many listeners. But the opening chords of "You Make It Easy" from Another Fine Day wipes that forever away. And the ultimately too-frickin'-catchy for it's own sake "5-22-02" hooks you in for the duration. Rest assured, there isn't a bad song on this disc. But for the sake of discussion, try out "Beautiful Mind," "Listen Joe," and "Hurricane." And if for some reason that defies any semblance of logic, that doesn't sell you on this album, try out "Cure For This." This is a song that deserves loving treatment by Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoff on their Under the Covers" album. What could have been an exercise of self-indulgence arrives as one of 2006's finest albums.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Fine Golden Smog Record, July 18, 2006

By	Ron - See all my reviews

Went out to buy this record today, the day of release, due to the amazing predecessor, "Weird Tales". I'm a big Jayhawks fan, as well as a big Wilco fan, but this album caught me a bit by surprise. It's very rocking in production and songcraft, with only a few acoustic tunes. The majority of the record is wall-of-sound rock & roll...like Oasis covering Whiskeytown... which results in one the most thrilling listens I've had when first popping in a new CD and letting it play. I recommend this album to anyone who loves great rock & roll or Americana with some soul and energy...