New takes on unheard classics

When a band announces their intent to release something of a “cover album” of material, fans may wonder if the band’s songwriters are either running out of ideas or are just losing their passion for creating new material. In the case of The Jayhawks’ new album, neither accusation is warranted or truthful. 

Back Roads and Abandoned Hotels is The Jayhawks’ tenth studio release and their first on Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony. The album was produced by guitarist, vocalist and principal songwriter Gary Louris, as well as multi-instrumentalist John Jackson and Ed Ackerson.

Louris, who, in addition to bassist Marc Perlman, is the only remaining original member of the group, usually serves as the band’s principal songwriter. But on Back Roads and Abandoned Hotels, the bulk of the tracklist is comprised of Jayhawk renditions of Louris tracks, written while Louris was working with other groups and musicians. Only two tracks on Back Roads (“Carry You to Safety” and the somber “Leaving Detroit”) are attributed solely to Louris.

This gives the album a varied feel as the various writers give each song a different distinct writing style. The result is a collaborative collection of tracks from the past, with a number of different fingerprints on them. For example, Louris co-wrote “Everybody Knows” and “Bitter End” over ten years ago when he was working with the Dixie Chicks on their 2006 album Taking the Long Way. Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan has co-writer credits on “Gonna Be a Darkness,” which was originally written for the HBO series True Blood.

Diving deeper, Back Roads and Abandoned Motels departs from previous Jayhawks albums by bringing members of the band in front of the microphone for the first time. Keyboardist Karen Grotberg’s voice opens up the album with “Come Cryin’ to Me,” a smooth yet dark track featuring background horns and a tribal drumbeat. Grotberg also lends her voice to the stomping track of “El Dorado,” originally written for Carrie Rodriguez’s She Ain’t Me in 2008.

Drummer Tim O’Reagan lends his voice on lead vocals for two tracks: “Gonna Be a Darkness,” which features a soaring organ that helps really drive home the religious overtones of the lyrics; and the steady “Long Time Ago,” originally written for Emerson Hart’s band Tonic, prominently featuring an acoustic slide guitar. John Jackson showcases an alluring mandolin during the waltzing rhythm of “Bitter End,” which plays like a farewell to old friends.

Above all, one must sing the praises of this consistently good album. While the album explores the lyrical ideas of loss, self-realization and coming together, Back Road and Abandoned Hotels is second-to-none in terms of storytelling and combining all available pieces (from both inside and outside the band) to create 11 exceptional songs. Each track has a relaxed melody, sensibly witty lyrics, and a chilled out vibe that gives the track list a calm demeanor. An absolute recommended listen and perhaps one of the best albums of 2018 so far.