Customer Reviews

Blue Earth

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Jayhawks Blue Earth record is a one of a kind! Or maybe two of a kind if you count their very first self titled album which is no longer available (OOP). This one is still available, and I strongly suggest buying it before it's not available anymore! It's on the very small Twin-tone label. One listen to this gem, and you'll understand where the Jayhawks came from. The pre-big label Jayhawks doing what they do best, and that's defining what good down home Americana music is all about. Talk about musical "hooks"! I dare you to try and count them on Blue Earth. The songwriting team of Olsen/Louris has never sounded better. These songs will stick in your head for years to come. Although I'm a fan of all the Jayhawks material, Blue Earth has always been my sentimental favorite because the songs are so real and unpolished. By that I mean, this album doesn't have all the glitter that some studio albums have. This sounds more like the guys got together in a studio and played the album straight through live, while having a great time doing it! Do yourself a big favor and pick this one up, then you'll understand where all the other great Alt-country bands came from. Remember, before Uncle Tupelo, there was the Jayhawks!

The rereleased, remastered Blue Earth by the Jayhawks is the seedling from which some amazing Americana grew. Originally released in 1989 by the Minneapolis label Twin/Tone, Blue Earth showcases a young band with great promise. Sure the songs are not as polished and well crafted as those on Hollywood Town Hall and later records. But there is a certain rustic charm to the cuts on this album. The listener can hear Olson and Louris search to find their voices in these simple country-styled compositions. Songs like Five Cups of Coffee and Will I Marry show the beginnings of fine craftsmanship. Enjoy this record for what it is: a small gift. There are no professional session players, no big name producer. This is a few guys from the upper midwest saving up some cash for studio time, playing together while drinking a few too many Grain Belt beers. Sounds like Blue Earth to me.

Personally, I think this album is awesome. It's my favourite Jayhawks album but I'm not sure it's the perfect place for someone new to them to start at. The Jayhawks with Mark Olsen were the definitive manifestation of the band in my opinion. Later albums are less country-ish but still great music with well crafted songs. The best of these, for me are "The Sound of Lies" and the rootsy, Byrds influenced "Rainy Day Music", although "Smile" is the slickest with all the hooks and catchy melodies you could desire. Start with "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Tomorrow the Green Grass" if you want the classic stuff - with Mark Olson and Gary Louris both still in the band, together they became one of those mysterious and exotic magical puddings, like Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, Robert Foster & Grant McLennan (the Go Betweens) or even Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook and Cris Difford (I'd suggest Lennon and McCartney except that no-one will know who they are). All very good on their own but outrageously creative and productive when working together.

On "Blue Earth" though, one song appeals to me more than any other Jayhawks tune; "ain't no end". It doesn't get mentioned in reviews but I think it's one of their finest. Olson's charismatic vocal style and Louris' dirty and loose guitar work make this one a real stunner. The 3 bonus tracks are also worthy inclusions. "Blue Earth" is raw, unpolished and unashamedly country - in a very good way.

The Jayhawks, perhaps the finest American country rock band of the 80s and the 90s have disavowed their country past and have gone rock/ pop - no great loss because their rock is as good as their country. That is to say, it's as good as gold. But this, their so-called 'first album' is a gem in a world of dirge. The upfront acoustic strumming, the heavily rock-influenced playing of Gary Louris and those harmonies conspire to insinuate a path into your brain where they stay for quite some time.

The Jayhawks come across on this record as standard-bearers for the Neil Young/ Gram Parsons school of country rock, with a healthy dose of pop smarts that seem to be missing from most other country rock bands. As they went through two more albums, they became less and less country but no less pastoral in their overall vision. Mark Olsen called it a day in 1995 to spend more time with wife Victoria Williams and Louris opted to keep the band going and going in a new direction. But Blue Earth is about the finest country record of it's generation and it appears on Twintone, the home of the Replacements. This is a recommendation in itself, never mind the fact that the songs are among the strongest written in the genre. Country acts starved of decent material need look no further.

This is THE BEST Jayhawks CD. After mark Left, the band was lightweight at best. His gutsy guitar and vocals are sorely missed. "Rainy Day Music" is the best of the bunch, but "The Blue Earth" is more honest and urgent. Forget all that crap about these "just being demos." Sometimes, the raw setting actually enhances the results. Such is the case here. If you like Gram Parsons, this is the best alt-country has generated in tribute to him.

When I saw these guys live in a bar in Minneapolis back in 1988 (I was there organizing an anti-war protest, and was taken to see "the best band in town" by an anarchist friend) there was no fashionable alt.country movement to join. And unlike Uncle Tupelo and some others, Olson, Louris & Co. never played punk rock as far as I know. They just heard a sound, up there in the North Country.

Eight of these songs are by Mark Olson, and four are co-written by Olson and Louris. This is absolutely beautiful, melodic, poignant country rock. My favorite tracks are "She's Not Alone Anymore," "Commonplace Streets," The Baltimore Sun," and "Sioux City." BLUE EARTH was to be followed by just two more brilliant albums, HOLLYWOOD TOWN HALL," which has a uniformly downbeat tone, and TOMORROW THE GREEN GRASS, which has a more "Beatles-esque" pop feel, and a greater diversity of mood. Both are present in BLUE EARTH. It was the template for all that was to follow.

Personally I never thought it made sense to have the Jayhawks without Mark Olson -- it would be kind of like trying to have the Beatles without Lennon OR McCartney! He was the soul of the band, the main singer and songwriter, and he gives the group its distinctive, sweet sensibility. More power to Louris and the others for wanting to continue, but the post-Olson recordings lost the magic for me.

I'm glad to see Mark and Gary have reunited as of 2009.

Now they have a new Jayhawks album, 16 years after TTGG -- Mockingbird Time.

This album is essential to a Jayhawks collection. The better-known "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Tomorrow The Green Grass" albums are great, but somewhat over-arranged and overproduced by comparison, where this one makes you feel like they recorded it in a garage or similar setting. It was made up from demos that were kept for their loose quality and therein lies the charm.
Why run and get tired out when you can walk and enjoy the scenery?

Theres no getting around it, with or without Mark Olson, The Jayhawks are undisputedly some of the most talented musicians in the music world today. It is interesting to see the evolution of their sound, almost starting with this cd (their first cd is rare, and few people have it). "Blue earth" is mesmorizing in its rich, organic, country-pop sound...Yes, the sound is country but still instinctly pop, and the songs resinate over and over in your head. Its a good thing, because these songs are incredibly well written with a raw energy. Once you get a taste of this album, you will hear these songs over and over again in your head, and you will want to play the album repeatedly. This one is a real classic, perhaps a one of a kind sound that stands alone compared with other alt-country music giants like Uncle Tupelo, Gram Parsons, Lucinda Williams, Whiskeytown, etc..I have plenty of alt-country music cds, and this one is unique. How can such musicians blend pop, rock, and country so well? These guys have done it for a long time...and even though "Rainy Day Music" is far away from "Blue Earth" in sound, you can still hear the genuine quality songwriting and pop eloquency that reigns with every album.

"Blue earth" is the most country inspired album by Jayhawks. Although it's a good debut (?), things got better for the second release: "Hollywood town hall" and the third one: "Tomorrow the green grass". On these albums I think Jayhawks got the right mix of country and rock. Although "Blue earth" clearly shows the talent of especially Mark Olson and Gary Louris, I think it has too much of Gram Parsons in it, too much of traditional country. "Blue earth" is in my opinion very similar to The Byrds "Sweetheart of the rodeo" from 1969. I miss the edge and I believe too many of the songs are predictable and not too far from the Nashville sound. But of course there are highlights included, and a song like "Will I be married" is absolutely comparable to Jayhawks better tunes.

The thing is that this album (like many others) gets better with repeated listenings, and what first appeared as nothing special turned out to be rather good after all.

When I saw these guys live in a bar in Minneapolis back in 1988 (I was there organizing an anti-war protest, and was taken to see "the best band in town" by an anarchist friend) there was no fashionable alt.country movement to join. And unlike Uncle Tupelo and some others, Olson, Louris & Co. never played punk rock as far as I know. They just heard a sound, up there in the North Country.

Eight of these songs are by Mark Olson, and four are co-written by Olson and Louris. This is absolutely beautiful, melodic, poignant country rock. My favorite tracks are "She's Not Alone Anymore," "Commonplace Streets," The Baltimore Sun," and "Sioux City." BLUE EARTH was to be followed by just two more brilliant albums, HOLLYWOOD TOWN HALL," which has a uniformly downbeat tone, and TOMORROW THE GREEN GRASS, which has a more "Beatles-esque" pop feel, and a greater diversity of mood. Both are present in BLUE EARTH. It was the template for all that was to follow. And in my view, you cannot have the Jayhawks without Mark Olson -- it would be kind of like trying to have the Beatles without Lennon OR McCartney! He was the soul of the band, the main singer and songwriter, and he gives the group its distinctive, sweet sensibility. More power to Louris and the others for wanting to continue, but the post-Olson recordings lost the magic for me.

I'm glad to see Mark and Gary have reunited, as of 2009.