Tomorrow the Green Grass

Jayhawks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 11, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: American Recordings
• ASIN: B000068FUM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,453 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

At its best, listening to the Jayhawks make music is a beautiful American experience falling somewhere between drinking a cold Coke on a hot day and driving through the Rocky Mountains at sunset. Perhaps it's in the clarity of Mark Olson's tenor melodies and their accompanying ghostly harmonies, or maybe it's in Gary Louris's immensely raved-up country rock licks. Or perhaps it's the impression left by lyrics that never reveal the whole story but tell just enough to tear at you and make you understand their feeling--the loneliness, the sorrow, the hope, or the peace.

The Jayhawks were at their very best indeed on 1992's Hollywood Town Hall. Their guitars were sharp, the words perfect, and the melodies unforgettable. With Tomorrow the Green Grass, however, 1994's version of the great country soul group is decidedly less filling, even when still savory. The addition of violins is a nice touch, but a misstep where the music's muscle is concerned. The guitars are still gorgeous, but muddier and less hook-laden than before. The lyrics still haunt, but they're more disjointed and less gripping this time around. And the melodies are both a blessing and a curse: more easily catching and chart-ready but with a lot less meat on their bones. Call it cosmic American music in the sugary Milky Way galaxy. Or else just remember how much Gram Parsons always did look sort of like David Cassidy. --Roni Sarig

Product Description

Out of print in the U.S.! Import pressing of the 1995 album from the American Roots rockers. Tomorrow The Green Grass, as indicated by the hopeful title, brings it all back home to simple pleasures, radiant down-home joys and universal fears. It is apparent from the initial acoustic strums that this is an album that concentrates on music, not trends. This Minnesota-based band combines the high lonesome aspects of Bluegrass with the rough-edged, pining soulfulness of Burrito Brothers/Gram Parsons Country-Rock and the spirit of Modern Rock. The Jayhawks bind it all together with off-center harmonies, infectiously strong melodies and a powerful narrative sensibility. Whether the subject is suicide, unabashed love, hopelessness, child abuse or the unbridled love the band has for Victoria Williams (who is married to Jayhawk Mark Olson), it is presented with spunk and verve. Sometimes sounding vaguely R.E.M.-ish, the tracks often portray a pained passion.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "...Deeper Yellow On The Corn..." January 18, 2011

By Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

*** This Review Is For The 2011 2CD LEGACY EDITION ***

The Jayhawks "Tomorrow The Green Grass" showed that after two accomplished Indie albums (1986 and 1989) and their stunning 1992 breakthrough effort "Hollywood Town Hall" - here was a truly great Americana band hitting their stride.

This January 2011 2CD Legacy Edition is a massive overhaul of their revered 4th album - and American 88697 72732 2 breaks down as follows...

Disc 1 (68:20 minutes)
Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "Tomorrow The Green Grass" released February 1995 on American Recordings 43006
Track 14 is "Tomorrow The Green Grass", a studio recording, non-album B-side from the 1995 single "Blue"
Tracks 15, 16 and 18 are "You And I (Ba Ba Ba)", "Sweet Hobo Self" and "Sleep While You Can" and are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Track 17 is "Last Cigarette", a studio recording, non-album B-side from the 1995 single "Bad Time" which features Karen Grotberg on Lead Vocals

Disc 2 (72:17 minutes)
Tracks 1 to 18 are called "The Mystery Demos" and are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1 to 10 are Mark Olson and Gary Louris 'Demos' recorded 6 February 1992 in Minneapolis with Mike "Razz" Russell on Violin
11 to 18 are Mark Olson and Gary Louris 'Acoustic Demos' recorded October 1992 in Los Angeles with the album's producer George Drakoulias overseeing the session

The album produced 3 singles - "Bad Time" (backing vocals by Sharleen Spiteri of Texas), "Blue" and "I'd Run Away" which featuring a plethora of outtakes and previously unreleased tracks across worldwide releases. I mention this because the eagle-eyed fan will notice that there are 3 B-sides NOT featured here (and there was room for them) - they're on the superlative "Music From The North Country" American Recordings 2CD/1DVD compilation from 2009. The band probably didn't want to duplicate what fans have already bought - but it's worth mentioning that if you want a fuller picture, you'll need 'both' releases despite this being a supposed all-encompassing 'Legacy Edition'.

The 3-way card digipak features a 24-page booklet with liner notes by band-archivist PD LARSON - photos of the boys in the studio - out on the road, pictures beneath the 2 see-through plastic trays etc. It's very nicely done and in keeping with the original black and white artwork.

The original tapes have been remastered by VIC ANESINI (he also did the "Music From The North Country" set - see separate review) and the sound quality is BEAUTIFUL - so sweet and warm. Tracks like "Blue" and "Two Hearts" were standouts anyway on the original CD, but here they sound just gorgeous. The remaster also makes you rehear a lot of the lesser-lauded gems on the record like "Pray For Me" (with Victoria Williams on Backing Vocals - lyrics above) and the pretty "Ann Jane" - they now sound 'so' good.

As you can imagine - the previously unreleased stuff is a mixture of the great and the ordinary. The 2 B-sides on Disc 1 are only OK, but the 3 outtakes are surprisingly good - especially "Sweet Hobo Self". The plaintive "You And I (Ba Ba Ba)" could have been a great lost classic - it starts out so well, but then seems to get lost in a lyrical mess that the band forgot to come back to - to sort out.

Disc 2 offers up a whopping 18 demo versions. With so many songs recording in one gulp - and being demos - mistakes and glitches are left in and the production is basic (a lot of hiss on the Oct 1992 sessions) - but it actually imbibes the songs that didn't make the final cut like "Won't Be Coming Home" and "Poor Michael's Boat" with a stripped down intimacy that will thrill hardcore fans. The "Blue From Now On" demo for instance is as gorgeous in rough-cut as is the finished version (eventually just called "Blue"). Some are dull though like "Red's Song" and "Bloody Hands" - some surprise you like the excellent "Ranch House In Phoenix" while "Nothing Left To Borrow" is as lovely as The Jayhawks get. While it's not quite the wow the Deluxe Edition of Whiskeytown's "Strangers Almanac" is (see separate review) - it's still very good indeed.

To sum up - the remaster is superlative, the packaging is excellent and the 'works-in-progress' extras give us a 'deeper' feel for the album and are often shockingly good.

Recommended.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This cd that actually deserves 5 stars October 18, 2000

By Jesse

Format:Audio CD

I listen to a lot of cd's. You could almost say it's an addiction. Most of the ones I buy these days, I listen to 3 or 4 times, then forget about. I guess listening to such a wide variety of music over the years has made me a little hard to please. Something's really got to stand out to get my attention. You can see where I'm going here - these guys got my attention! This Jayhawks cd is almost constantly in my cd player - not because I have to justify buying it by listening to it a certain number of times, but because I honestly can't wait to hear it again. I have to force myself not to listen to it over and over because I'm afraid I'll get tired of it like I always do, but so far it just gets better each time. Heck, I have to force myself not to listen to each song 2 or 3 times in a row! A prize like this more than justifies all the money I've thrown away on disappointments that end up collecting dust in my cd collection, and believe me I've wasted a lot of money over the years. If you decide to get this one, do yourself a favor and listen to it at least 5 or 6 times before you make a judgement, and especially before you post a review. Something this good just can't be fully appreciated with one listen. The 5 star rating gets thrown around a lot, and I'm as guilty as anyone, but these guys really deserve it.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loud Folk Music June 15, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

Members of the Jayhawks have described their music as "loud folk music" and thats a pretty good description. Tomorrow The Green Grass is "middle period" Jayhawks and it is possibly their finest recording - although every single one of their albums are excellent. This is American folk rock at its best and you can hear why there are so many comparisons to Gram Parsons and Neil Young. This one is a requirement for any music fan who's serious about their music collection. After this, buy "Hollywood Town Hall", then "Sound of Lies", then "Smile", and then "Blue Earth" - in that order.