"Wake up, put your shoes on," beckons Gary Louris on the title track of this CD, yet another gem from contemporary country rock masters the Jayhawks. While the band's earlier releases, such as Hollywood Town Hall, Sound Of Lies, and Tomorrow The Green Grass, were brilliant but uneven, Smile is perhaps the ultimate expression of a band firing on all fours--and this after losing one of their one of their principal songwriters.
A majestic song about overcoming adversity, "Smile" is instantly memorable, an epic country-rock classic with soaring vocal harmonies and billowing strings, a rocking bridge, and a peaceful, twinkling-star ending. "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" is a dead ringer for a lost Traveling Wilburys single, full of punchy acoustic guitars and Dylanish vocals ("Hey, pinch me, I'm dreaming"). And the Hawks can stretch the style just as they revel in it, adding tasteful drum and bass beats to "Wildest Dreams," while resonant ballads like "A Break In The Clouds," and "What Led Me To This Town," with its Emmylou Harris feel and Richard Burton guitar licks, is the stuff of Gram Parsons's dreams.
That the Jayhawks' yearning, resplendent (and yes, rocking) country rock is out of step with the vapid Hollywood charms of Faith Hill or the cynical consumer style of Garth Brooks doesn't matter. By upholding the legend of country rock past, the Jayhawks create a legend all their own.
All recordings courtesy of Columbia Records. ΓÇ£SmileΓÇ¥ written by G. Louris; courtesy of Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Absinthe Music (BMI). ΓÇ£I'm Gonna Make You Love MeΓÇ¥ written by G. Louris, T. Rhodes; courtesy of Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Absinthe Music (BMI)/Taylor Rhodes Music (ASCAP). ΓÇ£What Led Me To This TownΓÇ¥ written by G. Louris, M. Perlman, K. Grotberg, T. O'Reagan; courtesy of Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Absinthe Music/Third Wheel Music (BMI)/Copyright Control.
