Rainy Day Music
Studio album by
The Jayhawks
ReleasedApril 8, 2003
RecordedSunset Sound Recording Studio, Los Angeles
GenreAlternative rock, alternative country
Length50:51
LabelAmerican, Lost Highway
ProducerRick Rubin (exec.), Ethan Johns
The Jayhawks chronology
Smile
(2000)		 Rainy Day Music
(2003)		 Music from the North Country – The Jayhawks Anthology
(2009)

Rainy Day Music is the seventh studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks, released on April 8, 2003. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 51, selling 19,000 copies that week.[1]

History

At the time of the recording, The Jayhawks consisted of the trio of Gary Louris and long-time members Marc Perlman and Tim O'Reagan. New guitarist Stephen McCarthy replaced guitarist Kraig Johnson. The initial release included a bonus CD of six songs, including a solo live performance by Louris of "Waiting For the Sun", the lead-off track of the group's 1992 album Hollywood Town Hall, on April 26, 2002 at The Woman's Club, Minneapolis, MN.

Guests on the album included Bernie Leadon, Jakob Dylan and Matthew Sweet.

Reception

Rainy Day Music received generally positive reviews from critics.[2] Dirty Linen described the album as "a low-key effort that features delicate harmonies, recalling California relatives such as Poco and the post-Gram Parsons Burrito Brothers".[3] Uncut called the album "all acoustic guitars, rich jangling melodies and heavenly harmonies" and wrote that Gary Louris "has come up with some of his most memorable compositions."[4] Will Hermes of Entertainment Weekly described it as "folk-rock laced with banjos, accordions, and pedal steel" and "the roots move one suspects fans have wanted for years, its classic rock flavor echoing the Byrds, CSNY, and Poco".[5] Mojo wrote that "their new-found economy makes for some pretty lovely highpoints" and that "Louris is unquestionably a virtuoso, playing his parts with a decorous restraint, and contributing cooing, affectingly human vocals."[6]

In his review for AllMusic, Zac Johnson, noting the return to roots music versus the band's more pop-oriented previous albums, praised the first six songs but felt that "the second half stumbles", concluding that "it's certainly an album that gets better with each listen, so it may yet prove to be worth its weight in acoustic gold."[7] Pitchfork reviewer Andrew Bryant agreed that the first half surpasses the second, stating that the latter songs "simply sound forced, pushing the combination of what constitutes alt-country and folk-rock to its limit of self-parody, and at times irreversibly crossing that line", calling the album "the sound of a dog (or more appropriately a bird) chasing its own tail, content with plugging away at the same formula as long as there's still precedence for satisfying their musical niche."[8]

In 2009, Paste Magazine placed the album #44 on their "The 50 Best Albums of the Decade" list.[9]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
American Songwriter[10]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[5]
The Guardian[11]
Mojo[6]
Pitchfork6.1/10[8]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
SpinB[14]
Uncut[4]

Track listing

All songs by Gary Louris unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Stumbling Through the Dark" (Gary Louris, Matthew Sweet) – 2:26
  2. "Tailspin" – 3:19
  3. "All the Right Reasons" – 3:25
  4. "Save It for a Rainy Day" – 3:08
  5. "Eyes of Sarahjane" – 3:48
  6. "One Man's Problem" – 4:02
  7. "Don't Let the World Get in Your Way" (Tim O'Reagan) – 4:19
  8. "Come to the River" – 4:29
  9. "Angelyne" – 3:44
  10. "Madman" – 4:04
  11. "You Look So Young" – 4:03
  12. "Tampa to Tulsa" (O'Reagan) – 4:02
  13. "Will I See You in Heaven" (Marc Perlman) – 3:39
  14. "Stumbling Through the Dark (Reprise)" (Louris, Sweet) – 2:17

The initial CD release of Rainy Day Music included a bonus CD, titled More Rain, which included:

  1. "Fools on Parade" – 3:29
  2. "Say Your Prayers" (Demo) – 3:35
  3. "All the Right Reasons" (Alternate Mix) – 3:30
  4. "Caught with a Smile on My Face" (Demo) – 3:49
  5. "Tampa to Tulsa" (Alternate Mix) – 4:08
  6. "Waiting for the Sun" (Louris, Mark Olson) (Live performance by Gary Louris on April 26, 2002 at The Woman's Club, Minneapolis, MN ) – 4:07

The 2003 2 LP release of Rainy Day Music also included the More Rain tracks.

2014 expanded reissue track listing

All songs by Gary Louris unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Stumbling Through the Dark" (Gary Louris, Matthew Sweet) – 2:26
  2. "Tailspin" – 3:19
  3. "All the Right Reasons" – 3:25
  4. "Save It for a Rainy Day" – 3:08
  5. "Eyes of Sarahjane" – 3:48
  6. "One Man's Problem" – 4:02
  7. "Don't Let the World Get in Your Way" (Tim O'Reagan) – 4:19
  8. "Come to the River" – 4:29
  9. "Angelyne" – 3:44
  10. "Madman" – 4:04
  11. "You Look So Young" – 4:03
  12. "Tampa to Tulsa" (O'Reagan) – 4:02
  13. "Will I See You in Heaven" (Marc Perlman) – 3:39
  14. "Stumbling Through the Dark (Reprise)" (Louris, Sweet) – 2:17
  15. "Tailspin ("Inbred" version)" - 4:12 (demo - previously unreleased)
  16. "Waiting For Salvation" - 4:02 (demo - previously unreleased)
  17. "The Book You Wrote" - 3:10 (demo - previously unreleased)
  18. "False Eyelashes (Blue-Eyed Soul)" - 3:00 (demo - previously unreleased)
  19. "Won't Last Long" - 3:17 (demo - previously unreleased)
  20. "In the Canyon" - 3:57 (Live at First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN - 7/29/2001 - previously unreleased)

Personnel

The Jayhawks
  • Gary Louris – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Marc Perlman – bass, mandolin
  • Tim O'Reagan – drums, percussion, guitar, conga, vocals
  • Stephen McCarthy – pedal steel guitar, banjo, lap steel guitar, vocals
Additional musicians
  • Richard Causon – piano, accordion, harmonium, keyboards, Hammond organ
  • Ethan Johns – dulcimer, guitar, drums, piano, percussion, harmonium, pump organ, guitar loops
  • Bernie Leadon – banjo (on "Tailspin")
  • Jakob Dylan – vocals (on "Come to the River")
  • Matthew Sweet – vocals (on "Tailspin", "All the Right Reasons", "The Eyes of Sarahjane")
  • Chris Stills – vocals, percussion
Production
  • Ethan Johns – producer, engineer
  • Ed Ackerson – engineer
  • Richard Dodd – mastering
  • Craig Allen – design
  • Martyn Atkins – photography
  • Chris Reynolds – assistant engineer
  • Rick Rubin – executive producer, art direction

References

  1. ↑ Martens, Todd (April 16, 2003). "Godsmack Takes 'Faceless' Straight To No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Reviews for Rainy Day Music by The Jayhawks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ "The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music". Dirty Linen: 83. June–July 2003.
  4. 1 2 "The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music". Uncut (72): 102. May 2003.
  5. 1 2 Hermes, Will (April 7, 2003). "Rainy Day Music". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  6. 1 2 "The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music". Mojo (113): 92. April 2003.
  7. 1 2 Johnson, Zac. "Rainy Day Music – The Jayhawks". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Bryant, Andrew (May 11, 2003). "The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  9. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  10. ↑ Gaston, Greg (June 25, 2014). "The Jayhawks: Sound Of Lies, Smile and Rainy Day Music Reissues". American Songwriter. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (April 11, 2003). "The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music". The Guardian. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ Blashill, Pat (April 17, 2003). "The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 9, 2003. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  13. ↑ Sarig, Roni (2004). "The Jayhawks". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 423–24. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  14. ↑ "Breakdown". Spin. 19 (5): 116. May 2003. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
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