Performer Notes

The Jayhawks: Mark Olson, Gary Louris (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Karen Grotberg (vocals, piano, Wurlitzer); Marc Perlman (bass); Don Heffington (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: George Drakoulias (baritone guitar); Greg Leese (pedal steel guitar); Lili Haydn (violin, viola); Tammy Rodgers (violin); Benmont Tench (organ); Victoria Williams, Sharleen Spiteri (background vocals).
Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, California and Louie's Clubhouse, Los Angeles, California. Includes liner notes by Tony Glover.
Released in 1992, Hollywood Town Hall wasn't a hit, but it received enough rave reviews to considerably raise the Jayhawks' profile, and it certainly heightened expectations for their next album. On 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass, the Jayhawks found themselves in the tricky situation of trying to match the quality of Hollywood Town Hall without simply repeating themselves, and they came remarkably close to achieving that daunting task. Rather than simply mimic the warm and unaffected sound of Hollywood Town Hall, the Jayhawks reached for a broader and more eclectic approach on Tomorrow the Green Grass; with the presence of new keyboard player Karen Grotberg and the addition of strings on several tracks, the album certainly sounded fuller and more artful, but Mark Olson and Gary Louris' harmonies were still the band's secret weapon, and were as pure and emotionally compelling as ever, while Louris' electric guitar solos gave the songs real rock & roll muscle without disturbing the essentially gentle nature of their music. And the best songs on Tomorrow the Green Grass are every bit as good as anything on Hollywood Town Hall, especially the opening hat trick of "Blue," "I'll Run Away," and "Miss Williams' Guitar" (the latter a joyous love letter to Olson's new bride, Victoria Williams). But while nearly every song on Hollywood Town Hall seemed like a classic in context, the greater stylistic variety of Tomorrow the Green Grass had the consequence of making a few of the songs in the second half of the album seem less than essential, most notably "Ann Jane" and "Pray for Me," though they hardly counted as disappointments, and the album rallies to a rousing finale with "Ten Little Kids." If Hollywood Town Hall is inarguably the Jayhawks' best album, Tomorrow the Green Grass runs a very close second, and though it was to be the group's last album with Mark Olson, the eclectic approach pointed the way to the sound and style of the fine records the Louris-led version of the band would go on to make. ~ Mark Deming

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (3/9/95, pp.66-67) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...there's always a riff or two that suggest that someone in the band has one hell of a record collection. That's fitting, since the Jayhawks reflect rock's past much more than its future. They're not backward looking, though--they just like their music simple and direct..."

Spin (3/95, pp.96-97) - 7 - Recommended - "...They pick up where they left off, stranded between a promise and a hard place. The harmonies of [Gary] Louris and Mark Olson are as clean as the emotions are muddled, as though every beacon of grace was a mirage, and each hard-won blessing a curse..."

Entertainment Weekly (2/17/95, p.59) - "...This is everything a country-rock album should be. Even those who normally can't stand the genre are likely to be seduced by the plaintive vocal harmonies, pristine melodies, and scrappy-but-lyrical guitar solos..." - Rating: A-

Q (3/95, p.100) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Mark Olson and Gary Louris lead their slightly expanded six-piece band through a string of beautifully bracing folk-tinged pop songs stunning in their simplicity. Their trademark, winsome vocal harmonies move from aching to expansive with captivating ease..."

Musician (6/95, pp.72-73) - "...when nostalgia is handled this eloquently and with such craft it's welcome....These songs contain moments of reflection and intimate sing-along hooks, just the kind of stuff that pervaded early FM "alternative" radio of yesteryear..."

Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #37 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.

Mojo (Publisher) (p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TOMORROW THE GREEN GRASS reined in the Neil Young and ramped up The Waterboys as a backwoods fiddle sawed away throughout..."

NME (Magazine) (2/18/95, p.49) - 7 - Very Good - "...the country harmonies that Mark Olson contrives with guitar hero Gary Louris attain that upliftingly sad tinge of gospel that was once the heavenly terrain of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris..."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'I'd Run Away' and 'Miss Williams' Guitar' are the highlights..."

Album: Tomorrow the Green Grass
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Blue
2)	I'd Run Away
3)	Miss William's Guitar
4)	Two Hearts
5)	Real Light
6)	Over My Shouler
7)	Bad Time
8)	See Him on the Street
9)	Nothing Left to Borrow
10)	Ann Jane
11)	Pray for Me
12)	Red's Song
13)	Ten Little Kids

Album: Tomorrow the Green Grass
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Blue
2)	I'd Run Away
3)	Miss William's Guitar
4)	Two Hearts
5)	Real Light
6)	Over My Shouler
7)	Bad Time
8)	See Him on the Street
9)	Nothing Left to Borrow
10)	Ann Jane
11)	Pray for Me
12)	Red's Song
13)	Ten Little Kids