Gary Louris strips it back for an intimate set of songs dedicated to his life partner.
The third solo album from Gary Louris, best known as one of the pivots of The Jayhawks, is quite a glorious listen, an impassioned love letter to his wife according to the publicity and dedicated to “Steph, my love and my muse forever and a day.” It’s a stripped-back album with Louris, for the most part, on his lonesome, playing guitar, piano and harmonica, giving the album a laid-back folk-like ambience. Stephen McCarthy of The Long Ryders appears on two songs, adding some sweet pedal steel, and Eleanor Whitmore (of The Mastersons) arranged and played the strings on ‘By Your Side’.
The album opens with ‘Getting Older’, a song which has Jayhawks written all over it, that rhythmic propulsion with a wheezy harmonica which characterised Louris’ songs on “Hollywood Town Hall”. It’s a reflection on the turbulence which most often accompanies one as you drift through life. There’s regrets and failures to get over as Louris sings “It’s time to make a new start and we’re just getting older.” ‘Couldn’t Live A Day Without You’ is a straightforward love letter to his wife with Louris admitting that “every song I sing is for you.” Not for the first time on the album one is reminded of the early solo career of Paul McCartney, in particular his first album, a feeling reinforced when ‘Redefining Love’ and ‘Helping Hand’ wheel into view. A McCartney favourite, Harry Nilsson, is also brought to mind on several of the songs and this is cemented at the close of the album when Louris covers Nilsson’s ‘Perfect Day’ adding a glorious pearlescent backdrop to the song.
His dependency on his wife is brought to life on the snarling ‘Dead Porcupine’, a slide guitar fuelled sense of dread which closes with Louris begging “oh my baby, never leave me” while the Neil Young like piano led song ‘By Your Side’ maintains that sense of solidarity as he pledges to be forever “by your side.” ‘Blow ‘Em Away’ is another Jayhawks’ like number which is full of youthful bravado but the essence of the album is best displayed on the aforementioned ‘Redefining Love’. It’s a gorgeous song, simply finger picked with an ever so slight keyboard wafting within it.
