Disco de The Jayhawks: “Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology [Deluxe Edition]”

American 88697 47043 2 is in tri-gatefold card sleeve with an extensive booklet and song choices overseen by key band member GARY LOURIS. This is the DELUXE EDITION - Disc 1 has 20 remastered tracks from their 6 studio albums (this disc is the one used for the standard single CD version); a bonus Disc 2 which contains 20 rarities (14 of which are previously unreleased) and a bonus DVD that gives you 7 Music Videos Plus 2 EPKs (Electronic Press Kits).

Here's a detailed track-by-track breakdown...

Disc 1 (76:29 minutes):

1. Two Angels

2. Ain't No End (1 and 2 from "Blue Earth", 1989)

3. Waiting For The Sun

4. Martin's Song

5. Clouds

6. Settled Down Like Rain (3 to 6 from "Hollywood Town Hall", 1992)

7. Blue

8. I'd Run Away

9. Over My Shoulder

10. Miss Williams' Guitar (7 to 10 from "Tomorrow The Green Grass", 1995)

11. Trouble

12. Big Star

13. The Man Who Loved Life (11 to 13 from "Sound Of Lies", 1997)

14. Smile

15. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me

16. What Led Me To This Town (14 to 16 from "Smile", 2000)

17. Tailspin

18. All The Right Reasons

19. Save It For A Rainy Day

20. Angelyne (17 to 20 from "Rainy Day Music", 2003)

Disc 2 (76:10 minutes):

1. Falling Star (from "The Jayhawks", privately pressed US-only debut LP limited to 2000 copies, never officially on CD before)

2. Old Woman From Red Clay (Alternate Take of "Two Angels" from "Blue Earth")

3. That's The Bag I'm In (A Fred Neil cover Recorded Live for KFAL Radio in Minneapolis in October 1989)

4. Won't Be Coming Home (1991 Demo, Later Made Famous by GOLDEN SMOG)

5. Stone Cold Mess (Outtake from "Hollywood Town Hall" Sessions, 1992)

6. Mission On 2nd (Outtake from "Hollywood Town Hall" Sessions, 1992)

7. Lights (Victoria Williams cover specially recorded for the Various Artists compilation "Sweet Relief: A Benefit For Victoria Williams", 1993)

8. Darling Today (Non-Album B-side of USA CD single of "Blue", 1995)

9. Break My Mind (Non-Album B-side of USA CD single of "Bad Time", 1995)

10. Get The Load Out (Non-Album B-side of a European CD single of "Bad Time", 1995)

11. Poor Little Fish (Early Version, An Outtake from the "Sound Of Lies" Sessions, 1996)

12. Someone Will (1998 Demo for "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" from "Smile", first aired on "Live From The Women's Club Official Bootleg" CD in 2003)

13. Cure For This (1999 Previously Unreleased Track, has emerged as "Goodbye Kiss" by Janey Winterbauer and Marc Perlman on their "25:32:47" EP in early 2009)

14. I Can Make It On My Own (1998/1999 Demo from the "Smile" Sessions)

15. Rotterdam (1999 Demo of "All The Right Reasons")

16. Follow Me (2001 Demo by Tom O'Reagan)

17. In The Canyon (2001 Demo, Outtake from the "Rainy Day Music" Sessions)

18. Tailspin (2001 "Early Version" Demo from the "Rainy Day Music" Sessions)

19. I Think I've Had Enough (2001 Demo from the "Rainy Day Music" Sessions)

20. Help Me Forget (2001 Demo from the "Rainy Day Music" Sessions)

Tracks 2 to 6 and 11 to 20 are previously unreleased

"...Anthology..." is produced by JOHN JACKSON and PD LARSON (who also does the liner notes) with superb mastering by GREG CALBI at Sterling Sound in New York. The sound quality is really clean and musically upped a notch ("Blue" in particular is gorgeous - lyrics for this review above). The 26-page booklet gives detailed backgrounds to each song (especially the unreleased stuff) and even if the print is tiny, it makes for a really entertaining and informative read.

I'd expected the quality to dip on Disc 2, but for the most part it's actually a strong rival for the sheer melody of the songs on Disc 1. It's really impressive stuff. Fans will adore "Rotterdam" the demo version of "All The Right Reasons" (surely one of their strongest songs) while the "Poor Little Fish" alternate is them stretching out into soundscapes they normally wouldn't go anywhere near - and winning - I love it. Their cover of the Victoria Williams song "Lights" for her cancer relief CD project is both fantastically musical and poignant. The quirky videos for "Big Star" (bevies of babes petting the boys) and "Save It For A Rainy Day" (ballerina outfits and swimming pools) are just icing on an already rather cool little cupcake.

"Music From The North Country" is a superb overview of a great American band in the tradition of Big Star and R.E.M. - and classily done too. It truly is a shame that they're gone.

Recommended - big time.

Bob Dylan. Gypsy. The Replacements. Husker Du. Prince. The Jayhawks.

What do these musical artists all have in common? Minnesota, the North Country. Yes, all these diverse artists hailed from Minnesota, and of course The Jayhawks title this Anthology with a nod to the iconic Dylan, who of course wrote the famous song "Girl from the North Country". This excellent deluxe Anthology is essential for Jayhawks devotees and newbies alike. Shame on you if you don't intimately know this band, but now here is your chance to catch up. Two cds worth of tunes and a DVD to boot. The Louris-Olson early material from the two masterpiece albums, Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass of course dominate, but there is plenty of other great selections from across the band's career, including from the fantastic Rainy Day Music album, and a generous helping of b sides and unreleased takes which make it worthwhile for the diehard who has most of everything.

I have seen this band in concert at least half a dozen times and they never fail to impress. They are the inheritors of the folk rock tradition melded by the pollenization of Dylan with the Beatles in the mid 60s and perfected by the Byrds with McGuinn and Hillman, and later countrified more by Buffalo Springfield, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco etc. Filtered through the prism of post punk indie rock and the No Depression movement of bands like Uncle Tupelo, The Jayhawks are one of the most enduring and successful of the American indie rock bands that came out of the 80s. In an earlier generation, many of these songs would have been huge FM radio hits. Instantly melodic catchy tunes, simple and direct, with the great harmony voices of Louris and Olson and acoustic guitars, mandolins, banjos and tasteful electric guitars galore. This is the type of band that if you have not discovered them, when you hear them, you say to yourself---"I can't believe I missed out on all this great music all these years". Their music is seemingly instantly familiar and comforting, and its mystified me how they aren't more of a household name among music fans on the level of a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. American indie rock at its best, and a band that upholds that great North Country tradition of superior musicianship. A must buy.

Disc one provides an overview of the Jayhawks' career. But, since the band never really had hit songs, it's hard to justify the song selection on this disc -- I would have probably made some different choices which reflect my favorites. It's also a bit schizophrenic, since each Jayhawks album is significantly different from the others, and hence these songs, which run chronologically, represent some real stylistic shifts. Still, a newcomer could use this disc as a means to figuring out which original album(s) to purchase, and a long-time fan would probably enjoy it as a sampler.

Disc two, a collection of demos, b-sides, and alternate takes, is great on its own -- good songs -- but especially interesting for a longtime fan as it includes earlier versions of some album tracks; it's cool to hear how the songs evolved, sometimes marginally ("Old Woman from Red Clay") and sometimes hugely ("Stone Cold Mess"). This disc also demonstrates the songwriting prowess of Louris and Olson --"Darling Today" was a b-side? Holy Cow! The song is a few minutes of pure pop pleasure, guaranteed to make you smile, and it was a b-side? Most bands would be lucky to have EVER produced such a great song! For the price I paid, that song alone makes this a worthwhile purchase.

The Jayhawks

"Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology"

(Sony-BMG Legacy, 2009)

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The twin legacies of Alex Chilton and Gram Parsons hover over these classic indie/billy twangcore tunes... This is a great 2-CD retrospective tracing the band's various phases and expansions, with shifting lineups and changes in style. I've always heard the Jayhawks as more of a rock band, though the twang is definitely there. It's interesting to hear them move from the mystically-oriented early days with Mark Olson in the band into a more streamlined rock style when the band was led by Gary Louris -- the programming of Disc One (the studio "hits") does a remarkable job of making these changes sound like a cohesive whole. Disc Two features demo tracks and other rarities, and gathers plenty of goodies for longtime fans to enjoy. (I'm sad that they didn't include their sublime cover of Grand Funk Railroad's "Bad Time" -- one of the catchiest tracks they ever recorded -- but I guess you can't squeeze everything in on every best-of...) The deluxe package also includes a third disc of video material, which is also kinda fun.... Overall, this is a very good document of the band's first couple of decades, a fan's delight as well as a strong introduction to one of the key bands in the 1990s alt-country scene. (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Hick Music)