Album #6: Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995)
The Jayhawks
Genre: Alternative Folk Rock
Dedicated to MB Member: Adidasss
A little bit of Americana\Country rock with the one of the nineties most sincere and original acts. From the captivating opening number “Blue” all the way through the “Ten little Kids” finale this is a fantastic listen. Soft and simple with just enough grandiose to pull off the melodramatic melancholy that makes this album work. It’s like being broken up with by your first girlfriend; so overwhelming in the moment but in retrospect so small in the grand scheme of things. (Redundant) The music conducts itself with just the right amount of seriousness. “Mrs. Williams Guitar” is the only song I find annoying and it’s one of the most well received from the album especially by the hipsters. I like the overwhelmingly sweet country ballad “Two hearts” a whole lot more. That song just exemplifies sorrow; this album is a sad sad album, but you feel better after you listen to it. Even the most testosterone loaded double Xers.
Some of the best songs on this album are the ones that a casual observer would like at as filler. “Over my Shoulder” is a beautiful tune; a song sort of tossed amongst the album nonchalantly but when given a chance is irrespirable in its honesty and openness. The vocal harmonies sort of shaking together is an evocative touch that makes it one of two flawless songs on the album. It’s hard to find a song that someone doesn’t love on this album “Bad Time” feels like a top 40 hit from a decade before or after it was released. “See him on the Street” and “Nothing Left to Borrow” each trade in very contrasting genres but each find a way to convey a very pure and melodic message and each has an uplifting moment that catches you instantly.
As I mentioned earlier there is not a truly bad song on this album; they all have a very specific sound and are excellent individual and collective compositions. Maybe it’s just because I do most of my album reviews under the influence, but lets face it, when I have time to sit at my computer and hack out an album review for absolutely no monetary compensation is exactly the same time I’m going to see to it that I am not 100% sober. Also **** grammar. I don’t know if the Jayhawks have ever really been talked about on here, but I guess that’s my fault as much as anyone’s it took me 1,500 posts to bring em’ up. Adidasss posted about them once before I was hee (Use your search function Newbs **Upper Right**) no one responded, this is your response buddy. This one’s for Croatia. Arbitrary rating: 9.9534\10