Jayhawks Hollywood

1992 I heard a song that sounded like a Classic Rock song from the 1970's. It was full of Country, Folk, and good old fashion Rock and Roll. I heard it on a Classic Rock radio station and really thought it was from the past. It had wonderful sounds of Neil Young, and Gram Parsons. Even the guitar hooks and piano and real organ made it sound like this was not really true. When the DJ announced it was from a somewhat new band called The Jayhawks, I stopped in my tracks. It really sounded like an undated version of Neil's Harvest. In 1992 when this album came out, it put me in such a mood that it changed what I listened to. Instead of hearing Heavy Metal or really over played Classic Rock, it got me to listen to something much better.

The Jayhawks were utterly amazing. After hearing this album I turned my musical concentration to Uncle Tupelo and other kinds of music from this mixed genre music. Every time I heard "Waiting For The Sun" I would crank it and sing along like I was the harmony section. Gary Louris and Mark Olson created some really great music together and were a huge influence on bands like Wilco, Soul Asylum, Ryan Adams, and countless others. What was so good about The Jayhawks was that they did not overpower you with heavy genre type stuff, like Country or Rock, but they played wonderful stuff to make it sound fresh and new.

When this band played live it was an even better sight to see. They knew what worked and took advantage of the great stuff they could do. Each song on their albums was carefully done with such class and did not seem it had a pompous feel to it. In some respects the album sounded very 70's as I mentioned above. It had a feel like if issued in the early 70's they would have been a instant success. I never got to see them on this tour, but I had a chance to and did not see it, something I regret now. One of my friends who is a Jayhawk fan told me that they were amazing live and you could tell they loved what they did. Even the song writing was wonderful and had a sense of past times. The blend of acoustic and electric guitar was just wonderful to the ears.

I think what made this more fun was the fact they got two most important session players to do the organ and piano parts. I mean usually bands do things themselves or find someone who does not know how to do it right, but the The Jayhawks enlisted Nicky Hopkins who played with Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones, The Who, and so many others in the early 70's. His name alone would make people sit up at attention. This attention got mine, I mean I heard of him and read him on albums that I owned and remembered that he was the missing piece that belonged on an album. He was the keyboard player on "Sympathy for the Devil" and all over Exile on Main Street. The other musician they grabbed was Benmont Tench who was the founding member of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. His work too is wonderful and fresh. He too also played with everybody from Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan, U2, Elvis Costello and countless others.

Each song on the album is fresh and wonderful. Even the single that caught my eye was great. Still one of my favorite songs. "Waiting For The Sun" is a genuine classic among rock songs. While grunge and leftover metal was floating around the Jayhawks kept it simple and fun. Later on The Jayhawks kinda lost their way, but this album and the next one had a great feel. Even their cover of "Blue," a Grand Funk song on their next album was wonderful and really made it their own. Take a listen to a band that was wise beyond their years. A band that had a wonderful fresh look at something that surely was ahead of the time they spent on this planet. Enjoy! Don't forget to sing along too, because this music is great for that.