I have read several reviews of various media recently where there have been extreme differences of opinion, e.g Bjork, and come to the conclusion that, as they must be, all opinions are subjective. Having said that, I detect a thread of disappointment running through even the 4/5 star reviews of this album, and Altcountryfan is closest to the heart of the matter. The Jayhawks always belonged to that group of artists who remained admired and loved by too few fans to become major players, no matter how much they deserve to be. Like other lovers of this band, I was so looking forward to this album, having bought all the Olson/Louris solo/joint albums, which all have their moments, and I was so disappointed for several reasons. 1) The production is very poor and cheap, obviously little money/support from the record company 2) The songs do sound formulaic and dominated by the voice of Gary Louris 3) Where oh where are the guitars that made Tomorrow the Green Grass such a joy. I know that sometimes first thoughts are not always the basis of lasting views, but I have played this album several times, and nothing has changed my view. Now if you want to hear something that does hit the spot from first listen, try Joe Ely Satisfied at Last, surely aprophetic title.
After listening to this album several times, I wrote the above review and was fairly certain that this was an album that would be part exchanged sometime in the near future. However, the other day I decided to give it another go, and hey, I heard a different album. The production is still sadly lacking, but the tunes do have a greater depth than I first thought, despite somewhat pedestrian titles. If you are a Jayhawks fan, give it time, and it may grow on you as well