Artvoice: Buffalo's #1 Newsweekly
Home Blogs Web Features Calendar Listings Artvoice TV Real Estate Classifieds Contact
Previous story: Blessed
Next story: Blue Rocket Trio

Golden Smog, Tim O'Reagan

Golden Smog: Another Fine Day (Lost Highway)
Tim O'Reagan: S/T (Lost Highway)

OK, there’s a side of me that wishes I was here to write a review of the latest Jayhawks record. The forever just under the radar country-rock outfit from Minneapolis, MN spent nearly two decades honing their craft with polished, perfect songs and unmatched musicianship, yet despite helping kickstart the alt-country movement and finding the highest level of patronage from uber-produced/label head Rick Rubin, they remained solely music fanatic fare and sadly saw their biggest breakthrough courtesy of a Ralph Lauren commercial.

Bummer.

Following the stellar Rainy Day Music The Jayhawks disbanded—perhaps permanently—a year and a half ago. While I’m sad that I may never get to review a Jayhawks record again, I’m certainly not crying for singer/guitarist Gary Louris. He’s a big winner of this past year. Following a lauded acoustic reunion tour with founding Jayhawk member Mark Olson, Louris landed co-writer credit on four songs featured on the Dixie Chicks' blockbuster Taking the Long Way, which is really the golden ticket for working musicians: Write some songs that are bound to pay the bills for years to come and you can do what you want.

Do what you want indeed. Gary’s got something else going on. The best news is that the latest by Golden Smog, a super group aggregate started as a cover band and featuring Louris and Olson, Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy, former Run Westy Run frontman Kraig Johnson, and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, has finally landed. It’s this occasional band’s third full-length after nearly a decade and a half. In the past, Golden Smog records have always been democratic group affairs, with each member getting close to equal time on the mic. Blame it on Tweedy’s busy schedule or Murphy's focus on the new Soul Asylum full-length, but this time around it really feels like Louris has something to say, and he takes control on Another Fine Day. He sets the pace with openers “You Make It Easy”—which sounds like a mini-epic left off of The Jayhawks dark pop opus Sound Of Lies—and the title track, which could well be the sound of Louris fronting Tweedy’s Wilco circa the groundbreaking Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. “Long Time Ago” is a tender, honest acoustic ballad penned by Tweedy and delivered wonderfully via Louris’ bright vocals that capture siblinghood’s unique bonds. “Corvette” is note-perfect powerpop and deserves to be the summer anthem of 2006, with its breezy feel set to an Ocasek-mechanized chug. “Gone” offers a meditative dose of psych-country straight from the Jayhawks playbook. While all of those gems have Louris in steady focus and largely represent Another Fine Day’s high-water spots, it’s a record with plenty more to love. “Hurricane” finds Dan Murphy doing crunchy fun, unpretentious rock (in truth, Soul Asylum’s lackluster latest album should be this good). “Strangers” has Tweedy offering a fine read of a Dave Davies song, while “I Can” is a killer Beatles-y number from Johnson.

I’m not done banging on The Jayhawks: There’s still Tim O’Reagan to deal with. O’Reagan took over the Jayhawks drum stool at the same time that Olson left, so it was convenient that he had a reedy tenor (not dissimilar to Olson’s) to sing harmonies with Louris. Never for a second have I doubted O’Reagan’s skills as a drummer or his vocal ability. Even his songwriting is solid; take the warmth of the Glen Campbell-esque “From Tampa To Tulsa” from Rainy Day Music as an example. Even so, I never for a second thought O’Reagan could carry a record on his own. His brand new self-titled solo debut proves me wrong. It’s a mellow masterwork that proves O’Reagan can do it all. While he plays most of the instruments across the album, that doesn’t stop him from having every other Jayhawk (including former keyboardist Karen Grotberg and, suprisingly, even Olson) adding parts.

“These Things” begins with a francophile intro with a squeezebox, a twist that readies you for a Parisian cafe and Yves Montand to start belting away. It turns instead into a daftly clever, skewered country tune blending a “bum-buh-dee-dah” pace and cowboy whistle with a fuzz guitar and “sunshine and pills.” “Black and Blue” is the perfect milemarker for the beautifully unencumbered acoustic pop that this album is all about, and though it breaks from the usual subject matter of love and relationships it has that perfect rough-but-sweet quality that's put to such good, heartfelt use in these eleven songs he's written. "Highway Flowers” and “That’s The Game” are simple and wonderful mid-tempo gems. The instrumental “Ocaso Rosa” dares to go for a mexicali flare while “Just Like You” is an unabashed aping of Dylan and the Hawks’ ambling blues rock. Tim O’Reagan’s solo debut is one that puts a smile on your face that’s hard to wipe off.

Two great albums? Maybe no more Jayhawks isn’t so bad after all.