It’s one of those paradoxes in life that while in my head I prefer the Jayhawks with Mark Olson, in reality some of my favourite songs by the band are from the era when he was no longer a member. The title track from the first record recorded without Olson back in 1997 was as exceptional as anything they’d produced before, with a lyrical honesty and melody that absolutely crushed me on first listen. Gary Louris’ vocals have never sounded so vulnerable. There was a raw nostalgia to lines such as “When I was young, outspoken, Mama said it’ll work out right.” Sometimes of course it doesn’t.
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I always thought Louris was the main man here, I saw Olson with Williams with the Creekdippers a few years ago and they were awful.