My Own Jo Ellen

Mark Olson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hightone Records
• ASIN: B00004YR3A
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,146 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Someone to Talk With

2. Linda Lee

3. Walking Through Nevada

4. Meeting in Lone Pine

5. Diamond Davey

6. Rainbow of Your Heart

7. Ben Johnson's Creek

8. Letter from Africa

9. My Own Jo Ellen

10. Rosalee

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humble, Naive Brilliance, September 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: My Own Jo Ellen (Audio CD)

This is one of my favorite releases of 2000.

Working completely outside the music establishment that he soured on years earlier as a member of the Jayhawks, Mark Olson and cohorts have released their fourth CD. My Own Jo Ellen is more fully realized than any of the prior Creekdipper efforts, with an expanded rhythm section on most songs and a little more variety in the music. The inclusion of guitar whiz Greg Leisz is a wise choice-he never overwhelms, but always stands out. And any release with fiddler/multi-instrumentalist Mike Russell (a long-time Dipper) should not be overlooked.

What this release lacks in stunning production values and technical acrobatics is easily made up for with Olson's sincerity. There is not a false sentiment or hollow emotion to be found in Olson's songs about his grandmother (the title track), government land grabs (Ben Johnson's Creek), economic downturns (Meeting in Lone Pine) and lost souls who find their way back (Diamond Davey). Walking Through Nevada, Linda Lee, Letter From Africa are all fine examples of 'folk rock'. Only Rainbow Of Your Heart, a moody, slow-paced blues/rocker, seems out of place.

I came to Olson through the Victoria Williams connection. While their styles may be somewhat different, the dynamic that underlies their music is the same. In fact, My Own Jo Ellen is almost my favorite Williams disc. Even though this is not a 'Victoria Williams' CD and her involvement is limited to singing back-up and occasional guitar playing, her spirit pervades this disc.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the Jayhawks, but so what?, January 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: My Own Jo Ellen (Audio CD)

Accepting that the glory days of the Jayhawks are gone, how can one not hear something lovely in its guile-free beauty on this Mark Olson record? Subtract Olson from the Jayhawks and you get what you get-- mediocre power pop. Put Olson in the desert and you get this delicate cactus blossom. Slightly underpowered? Maybe. But at its best: transcendant.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars more country than Jayhawks, September 3, 2007

By 

Mitch Baywatch (Brighton, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Own Jo Ellen (Audio CD)

Mark Olson used to be a member of the Jayhawks, but this is way twangier than anything they ever did. It's also a bit hokier, so you have to have a high tolerance for lyrics about farms and creeks and walking barefoot.

It's a terrific album, particularly the first half. Whatever the style, there are are number of really good tunes here (Meeting in Lone Pine is probably my favorite). Victoria Williams' vocal contributions are blessedly limited. The '90s was a great decade for alt-country, and My Own Jo Ellen (released in 2000) can be ranked among the best of them. But I'll reserve five stars for Hollywood Town Hall.