"…It's Not Lost On Me…"
After two accomplished Indie
albums in 1986 and 1989 - "The Jayhawks" and "Blue Earth" -
the JAYHAWKS finally made everyone sit up and take notice with their stunning
1992 breakthrough Americana effort - “Hollywood Town Hall".
This January 2011 reissue of "Hollywood Town Hall: Legacy Edition" by THE JAYHAWKS is an 'Expanded Edition' Remaster of that revered 3rd album and now
features 5 bonus tracks (two of which are Previously Unreleased).
American 88697 72731 2
(Barcode 886977273124) breaks down as follows (61:12 minutes):
1. Waiting For The Sun
2. Crowded In The Wings
3. Clouds
4. Two Angels
5. Take Me With You (When You
Go)
6. Sister Cry
7. Settled Down Like Rain
8. Wichita
9. Nevada, California
10. Martin’s Song
Tracks 1 to 10 are the album
"Hollywood Town Hall" released in 1992 on Def American 26829 in the
USA (it finally charted in early 1993)
BONUS TRACKS:
Tracks 11, 12 and 13 are
"Leave No Gold", "Keith And Quentin" and "Up Above My
Head" – they first appeared on a Promo-Only 1993 Def American US CD
compilation called "Scrapple" (11 was a bonus track on the European
edition of the CD album, while 12 and 13 later turned up as non-album B-sides
on the European and Australian CD singles for "Waiting For The Sun")
Tracks 14 and 15 are
"Warm River" and "Mother Trust You To Walk To The Store"
are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Tracks 1 to 15 are all
written by MARK OLSON and GARY LOURIS and produced by GEORGE DRAKOULIAS –
except "Witchita" (Track 8) which is co-written with Marc Perlman and
Track 14 which is a Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight cover version of
"Up Above My Head, I Hear Music In The Air" (1949 Gospel tune on
Decca)
The 2011 2CD Legacy Edition
of "Tomorrow The Green Grass" is missing 3 non-album B-sides (when
there was room for them) because they're on the superlative "Music From
The North Country" American Recordings 2CD/1DVD compilation from 2009 -
the same applies here. There are 2 outtakes on the "Music From The North
Country" Anthology called "Stone Cold Mess" and "Mission On
2nd" which are NOT on this issue – the band probably didn't want to
duplicate what fans have already bought. It's worth mentioning that if you want
a fuller picture, you'll need ‘both’ releases despite this being a supposed
all-encompassing 'Legacy Edition'. I've reviewed "Music From…" and
"Tomorrow…" separately.
Instead of a 3-way card
digipak like "Tomorrow…" – this CD is in a jewel case and features an
upgraded 20-page booklet with new liner notes by the album’s produced and
long-time band friend and admirer Greg Drakoulias. There’s the original Joe
Henry liner notes from December 1991 with new photos of the boys in the studio,
out on the road, typed and handwritten lyric sheets - it's very nicely done and
in keeping with the original artwork.
Top Remaster Engineer VIC
ANESINI has transferred the original tapes and the sound quality is BEAUTIFUL -
so sweet and warm (he also did the "Music From The North Country" and
"Tomorrow The Green Grass" sets - see separate reviews). Tracks like
"Waiting For The Sun", "Martin’s Song" and “Settled Down
Like Rain” were standouts anyway on the original CD, but here they sound just
gorgeous. The Remaster also makes you rehear a lot of the lesser-lauded gems on
the record like the plaintive Ryan Adams guitar-feel of "Take Me With You
(When You Go)" and “Nevada, California” - they now sound 'so' good and as
growers – they’ve have stood the test of time.
To sum up - the Remaster is superlative, the booklet is improved and the
5 bonus tracks are cleverly chosen and worthy additions. Very, very good
indeed….and as a band…I miss them…
