Album Review: The Jayhawks - Back Roads and Abandoned Motels

I like The Jayhawks, but I don't know what to make of them anymore. Since I discovered them, they have broken up and gotten back together, reunited with Mark Olson only to see him leave again, and made records that veered from traditional Americana rock to experimental noise rock. All the while, I've been watching from the sidelines while wondering just what in the world is motivating them. There is no easily seen arc of history they are following. Every move seems random. So when their last album seemed to be pushing them into a new (and disappointing, for me) future, they now head fully back into the past.

This new record isn't quite a new record. There are two new compositions to close it out, but the core of the record is made up of songs that Gary Louris had written with and for other artists. We get some tracks written with The Dixie Chicks, Jakob Dylan, and Emerson Hart (from Tonic), among others. Because these songs reach back, they connect with the original and classic Jayhawks sound, which is a complete departure from the last time we heard the band on record.

For fans like me, who first fell in love with "Hollywood Town Hall", and then heard a bit of a second coming on "Rainy Day Music", this record is a return to The Jayhawks we've been waiting for. Even "Mockingbird Time" didn't sound as wistfully Jayhawks as this record does. Louris has an affection for old Krautrock that has ruined many a Jayhawks song before, all of which has been stripped away from these tracks. His strength has always been in writing sly, subtle melodic Americana, which is what he was always brought in to deliver. It's what this record delivers.

But while this record is all about Louris' writing forays, it is a collaborative effort in the studio, with Tim O'Reagan and Karen Grotberg contributing vocals to several tracks, standing in for some of the co-writers. They bring new textures to the usual Jayhawks sound, and are nice additions. The added vocals in "Gonna Be A Darkness" especially work, as O'Reagan is able to inject enough of Jakob Dylan's gravelly tone to capture his essence.

The best songs here include "Everybody Knows", which was released as a single by The Dixie Chicks, so you might remember it. I don't happen to, so I'm hearing it fresh as a perfect Jayhawks song that could have hung on "Hollywood Town Hall". The Dylan song is another winner, as fans familiar with his work will hear his phrasing all over the melody. It becomes an interesting experience to listen to a favored writer's song being given voice by someone else, and still hearing them in it. It shows the power of the songwriter is stronger than we might often give credit.

The biggest pull on the record, for me, is "Long Time Ago", the song penned with Emerson Hart. As my favorite songwriter, hearing a new track with his fingerprints on it is a treat, and listening I'm not sure why the track had never been released before. While it might not fit in with Tonic, it would have made a fine track for Emerson's solo career. It's nice to have the song rescued from the cutting room floor.

That's what I can say about the entire record. While Louris has been busy taking the band on a string of detours over the last fifteen years, there have been songs like these waiting in the wings (*groan* sorry for the pun). The classic Jayhawks sound is classic for a reason, and it sounds as welcome and timeless now as it ever has. "Hollywood Town Hall" sounds as remarkable and vibrant today as it did when I first heard it, and this is a record that will hold the same appeal. No, I'm not saying it's anywhere near as good as that masterpiece, but it's a beautiful little record that makes time stand still, at least for forty-five minutes.