SquawkRadio

I was going to blog on The Jayhawks last Sunday, but I was still recovering from a writing workshop I did the week before and was just too beat (read: I’d talked so much, I was temporarily out of words). It was just as well, however. That was the same day the Kansas Jayhawks knocked the Kentucky Wildcats out of the NCAA tournament, and had I said anything positive about any Jayhawks that day, Terri would have likely driven all the way to Louisville to hit me with a brick.

But I did want to blog about the Jayhawks. As I said, I recently did a week-long writing workshop at a local university, which meant making the drive downtown and back seven times along one of my favorite driving routes--River Road. It is just what it suggests, a winding two-lane canopied by trees that follows the Ohio River on one side, and lovely, grand old neighborhoods like Glenview and the Lime Kiln Lane area on the other. It’s the kind of drive you want to make with mellow, melodic, beautiful music, especially when you’re making it in the dark.

Enter the Jayhawks with “Rainy Day Music” (which could have just as easily been titled “Night Driving Music”).  It’s one of my husband’s CDs that I picked up especially because I wanted something new to listen to for the thirty-minute one-way trip. I actually picked up about six CDs for that week, but I ended up listening to this one almost exclusively. It’s just that wonderful.

There are elements of folk here, more of country, maybe a little rock.  Roots music, perhaps, would be a good description. Though there were places where I coulda sworn I was listening to something slow by John Lennon. There were more places, however, where I could hear shades of Crosby, Stills and Nash. (Strange, since I was never a big CSN fan. Or Y, for that matter, back when that letter/guy was part of the band.) There are melodies and harmonies that are just gorgeous, and lead singer/songwriter Gary Louris has a voice that’s heartbreakingly melancholy. 

Which I suppose is appropriate for a collection that includes titles like “Stumbling through the Dark,” “Tailspin,” “Save It for a Rainy Day,” “One Man’s Problem,” and “Will I See You in Heaven.” Even the more upbeat music of “Come to the River” includes lyrics like, “My harp is tuned to the mourning wind/My flute to the voice that weeps within.” It’s not exactly a happy album. But it’s one of the most beautiful I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to.

The Jayhawks have been around since the mid-eighties, but this CD, released in 2003 was only their seventh--and looks to be the last, since they’ve reportedly split up. The band seems to have seen a steady stream of musicians coming and going over the years (though Louris and bass player Marc Perlman were founding members). It’s a shame, if this CD is an indication of their gift and talent.  I was hoping to find a long backlist for them, and anticipating another rich collection in the future.

All the more reason, then, to cherish “Rainy Day Music.” It truly is a musical gem.