Customer Reviews

Music From the North Country: Jayhawks Anthology

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This single disc collection pulls the highlights from six of The Jayhawks albums. As a long time fan, I've already got all of these songs, but there is a great three disc set with one disc of rarities and a DVD of videos and a short performance for long time fans. I wrote this review for people not familiar with The Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks sound like a 90s version of late 60s Byrds, with some Crosby, Stills and Nash thrown in. Their sound gets tagged as alternative country, but have a lot of folk-rock in their sound. Gary Louris is a unsung guitarist with a unique sound. The harmonies of Mark Olson (who left in 1995 and is gone for tracks 11-20 on the CD) and Louris mix to sound as one. The first ten tracks are marvels of country-rock, folk-rock - whatever you want to call it, it's great music. If you like this, download "Tomorrow the Green Grass" and "Hollywood Town Hall." Both have great songs not included on this disc.

After Olson left, the band became experimental. "Sound of Lies" had some psychedelic touches and "Smile" had the band going pop. "Rainy Day Music" was a throwback to their earlier sound and is also a great record. But for a Jayhawks primer or shoulda-been hits collection, you can't beat this single disc collection.

I discovered them back when I was working in a little AM station in southern WV right out of high school. The station was throwing away CD singles, two of which were "Blue" and "Bad Time," by The Jayhawks. I took them home, popped in the CD player, and have been a big fan ever since.

Fans can quibble about what isn't here - I would have picked "Two Hearts" over "Miss Williams' Guitar" from Tomorrow the Green Grass and "Think About It" over "Big Star" from the Sound of Lies album (which is also a great song.) I'm glad the band is finally getting their due, and I hope more people pay attention this time around. The best news I've heard lately is that the mid-90s lineup is reforming for a few shows. I liked the Olson and Louris record earlier this year, but I would love to have a new Jayhakws album.

Still, for those curious or those who've heard a song or two, this is a great introduction to one of the finest bands from the 90s.

In the Jayhawks universe, there is a clear divide between the output up to 1995 (with co-founder Mark Olson on board), and everything else after (when co-founder Gary Louis carried on). The Minneapolis band was hugely influental, but never found much commercial success and called it a day in 2005. (Not that that was the end of it, though, more on that later.)

"Music From the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology" (20 tracks; 77 min.) (the title of this bringing immediate thoughts of that other Minnesotan native, Bob Dylan, with his song "Girl From the North Country") brings a very generous serving of the best tracks of the band, and what a delight it is. The album is, thankfully, sequenced chronologically, bringing 2 tracks from 1989's "Blue Earth", 4 tracks from the band's best album, 1992's "Hollywood Town Hall" (it deserves more tracks, really), 4 tracks from 1995's "Tommorrow The Green Hall" (last album with Mark Olson), 3 tracks from 1997's "Sound of Lies", 3 tracks from the vastly underrated 2000's "Smile" and 4 tracks from the last album, the delightful 2003 "Rainy Day Music". In all, a terrific collection. Die-hard fans might argue over such-and-such track not being included, but at 77 min., this compilation is a job well done, period. (And for the die-hards, there is a "Deluxe" version of this compilation, with a second CD of demos, outtakes and live tracks.)

The good news is that Mark Olson and Gary Louris have finally reconciled and they released an excellent album in the Fall of 2008, "Ready For the Flood", which sounds quite different from the 'traditional' Jayhawks sound. Doesn't matter. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. I had the good fortune of seeing the Jayhawks in concert several times (although never in the pre-1995 clasic line-up with Mark Olson). Bottom line, many compilations are a hit-or-miss, but this one is well done, period, and highly recommended!

The Jayhawks, in their various forms, have made some of the greatest Americana music of our era. Every single one of their albums is a Five-to-Six Star winner. As such, of course all of the songs on this anthology (except for, to me, one) are stellar, but I would suggest that instead of getting this compilation, you'd be much better off simply getting all of their CDs. I couldn't recommend that highly enough. So not to knock this anthology, I'm just saying it doesn't give you nearly enough Jayhawks.

Recently remembered the Jayhawks and purchased this CD. One great song after another. Gary Louris and Mark Olson make a great singing duo and their harmonies distinguish the sound of the band.

Great, great collection of an underrated band. The funny thing is they could release a Volume II of this, and those 20 tracks would be just as good. The songs here were chosen well, so I won't complain about what's missing. Ok maybe one song. I wish "A Break In The Clouds" was included, but hey. I could listen to this anthology over and over. However since it ends with four songs from the Rainy Day Music album, I'm often prompted to put that in. If you're new to the band, listen to the samples here. Chances are decent you'll buy this. And if you're a fan of Uncle Tupelo, Ryan Adams or Cowboy Junkies, it should already be in your cart.

I first saw this band in 1992 and I still must say it was one of the best shows ever as well as acquiring all of their full release cd's. Though this cd is an excellent compilation with respect to Disc 1 (the Meat), there are only a few gems on disc 2 (the scraps). Easy to see why the remainder of the tracks on disc 2 were omitted off the main releases and released in the anthology or as B-Sides, etc.

Unless you are an avid Jayhwaks fan, I would recommend starting with Hollywood Town Hall and then go forward or backward. I would loathe to see a new or first time listener disregard the Jayhawks as a great band after hearing disc 2 and not revisit this band again.