Tomorrow The Green Grass

Village Voice - Ranked #37 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Entertainment Weekly - "...This is everything a country-rock album should be. Even those who normally can't stand the genre are likely to be seduced by the plaintive vocal harmonies, pristine melodies, and scrappy-but-lyrical guitar solos..." - Rating: A- Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Mark Olson and Gary Louris lead their slightly expanded six-piece band through a string of beautifully bracing folk-tinged pop songs stunning in their simplicity. Their trademark, winsome vocal harmonies move from aching to expansive with captivating ease..." Rolling Stone - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...there's always a riff or two that suggest that someone in the band has one hell of a record collection. That's fitting, since the Jayhawks reflect rock's past much more than its future. They're not backward looking, though--they just like their music simple and direct..." Spin - 7 - Recommended - "...They pick up where they left off, stranded between a promise and a hard place. The harmonies of [Gary] Louris and Mark Olson are as clean as the emotions are muddled, as though every beacon of grace was a mirage, and each hard-won blessing a curse..." Musician - "...when nostalgia is handled this eloquently and with such craft it's welcome....These songs contain moments of reflection and intimate sing-along hooks, just the kind of stuff that pervaded early FM "alternative" radio of yesteryear..." NME - 7 - Very Good - "...the country harmonies that Mark Olson contrives with guitar hero Gary Louris attain that upliftingly sad tinge of gospel that was once the heavenly terrain of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris..." Mojo - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TOMORROW THE GREEN GRASS reined in the Neil Young and ramped up The Waterboys as a backwoods fiddle sawed away throughout..." Record Collector - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'I'd Run Away' and 'Miss Williams' Guitar' are the highlights..." Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #37 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Rolling Stone (3/9/95, pp.66-67) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...there's always a riff or two that suggest that someone in the band has one hell of a record collection. That's fitting, since the Jayhawks reflect rock's past much more than its future. They're not backward looking, though--they just like their music simple and direct..." Spin (3/95, pp.96-97) - 7 - Recommended - "...They pick up where they left off, stranded between a promise and a hard place. The harmonies of [Gary] Louris and Mark Olson are as clean as the emotions are muddled, as though every beacon of grace was a mirage, and each hard-won blessing a curse..." Musician (6/95, p.72-73) - "...when nostalgia is handled this eloquently and with such craft it's welcome....These songs contain moments of reflection and intimate sing-along hooks, just the kind of stuff that pervaded early FM "alternative" radio of yesteryear..." Q (3/95, p.100) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Mark Olson and Gary Louris lead their slightly expanded six-piece band through a string of beautifully bracing folk-tinged pop songs stunning in their simplicity. Their trademark, winsome vocal harmonies move from aching to expansive with captivating ease..." NME (2/18/95, p.49) - 7 - Very Good - "...the country harmonies that Mark Olson contrives with guitar hero Gary Louris attain that upliftingly sad tinge of gospel that was once the heavenly terrain of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris..." Entertainment Weekly (2/17/95, p.59) - "...This is everything a country-rock album should be. Even those who normally can't stand the genre are likely to be seduced by the plaintive vocal harmonies, pristine melodies, and scrappy-but-lyrical guitar solos..." - Rating: A-

It is always refreshing to hear a roots-based group perform an original set, and the Jayhawks do not disappoint. 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-centre 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. "I'd Run Away", sung by a sweet voice and featuring synths instead of fiddles, could well pass for a Beatles tune, and the band furnishes it with proper grit and soul. "Miss Williams' Guitar" crashes with waves of shimmering, jangly guitar. And a left-field cover of Grand Funk Railroad's "Bad Time" is a rollicking treasure.
With TOMORROW THE GREEN GRASS, American Recordings has, once again, released a collection of heart-and-soul-felt songs by an American band worth a listen.|