Send "The Jayhawks " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 After forming in 1985, the Jayhawks took some time—but few albums—to develop their memorable sound. After the self-titled debut, the group released Blue Earth, which showed their growth as songwriters, but they wouldn’t reach their pinnacle for a few more years. Hollywood Town Hall came out in 1992 with the aesthetic fully developed; the group had a country rock sound, but its own idiosyncratic version, most notable for the vocal harmonies provided by Mark Olson and Gary Louris. The group refined this approach, and 1995’s Tomorrow the Green Grass showed the band in top form, able to rock and reflect without sacrificing either. The album was a masterpiece, and the single “Blue” became a benchmark song for the group. Then, largely due to a family medical issue, Olson left the line-up.The Jayhawks continued with Louris at the front, pushing their sound more into pop-rock for a few albums before the rootsier Rainy Day Music. The albums maintain a high quality, but they are clearly of a different era from the earliest releases. When Louris and Olson finally reunited after more than a decade for their Ready for the Flood album, it wasn’t as the Jayhawks. Instead, they put together a simple, acoustic album that was as particular as it was strong, and gave fans hope for a full reunion. The band got back together with Olson and Louris for a new release, and it was hard not to be optimistic. Unfortunately, while Mockingbird Time shows hints of the group’s old energy and craft, it ultimately disappoints....full text |
| Guardian |
| More than the sum of their parts? That's the Jayhawks. Separately, the voices of Mark Olson and Gary Louris tend to be thin; together, their harmonies are as richly American, in their way, as the Beach Boys. Writing together melds Olson's country tendencies with Louris's rockier leanings. And now, 16 years after their last album together, they have reunited, to often glorious effect. She Walks in So Many Ways sounds like a lost Byrds outtake, and it's not hard to think the line that closes its chorus – "All things are just as they should be" – looks to the pair's renewed relationship. High Water Blues somehow makes a success of matching a motorik rhythm to country rock; Black-Eyed Susan is one of those sprawling ballads that made the group's name. Mockingbird Time yields its pleasures slowly – at first listen, it felt like a letdown – but once revealed, they're indelible....full text |
| Bbc |
| With Mark Olson returning as co-leader of The Jayhawks after 16 years away, Mockingbird Time marks a long-awaited reunion for nostalgic fans. Its familiar noises are pleasing, too – though it’s hard to believe this was ever a band which made music that sounded new. Long ago, The Jayhawks in their first flight seemed like a fine idea: loping country rock without frills, brotherly harmonies, a bar-band bluesy edge (especially in Gary Louris’ grinding guitar) and, above all, Olson’s throaty, plaintive tenor. In the early 90s this modest synthesis even sounded like it might be the way ahead. The austerity of indie pioneers like Cowboy Junkies had swept away the Eagles generation, and The Jayhawks looked ready to bring an edgier sort of country into the mainstream. When the breakthrough never happened, they split. Olson stretched out in a rootsy meander with the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, while Louris’ stewardship of The Jayhawks slid increasingly towards 60s pop mannerisms and airy philosophising. Which, on the whole, is where we find them on Mockingbird Time. Classic pop inspirations loom large, apparently by design: the Beatles influence of the opening track is underlined by George Martin-style strings, and guitars ring like Roger McGuinn’s Rickenbacker on the Dylan/Byrds pastiche She Walks In So Many Ways. There must be worse fates than ending up as a classic pop jukebox, and there’s excitement as well as devotion in all this archaeology. Looking backwards, after all, The Jayhawks are working with a much broader palette than in their days of early promise. They sound like they’re having fun. And in the more oblique moments – generally the ones that Olson makes his own, like the slight but melodically angular title-track, or the fiddle-heavy folk rock of Black-Eyed Susan – there is an understated, nostalgic reminder of a distinctive voice....full text |
The Jayhawks lyrics
|
| ||||||||||
