The Jayhawks-Hollywood Town Hall (1992)

 

Artist: The Jayhawks

Title: Hollywood Town Hall

Label: Def American

Format: CD

Cat #: 9 26829-2

Year of Release: 1992

Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1992

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+ 

Sell Date: 3/9/25

Sell Price: $3.49

Discogs Last Sold: 3/11/25 NM/M $4.04

Low: $0.42

Median: $1.89

Average: $2.29

High: $5.43

Current low price: $1.63

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 61

Have/Want: 1272/56

Where Sold: Siviriez, Columbia, SC

Time it took to sell: 14 years

Where and When Bought: Sounds NYC $8.99 sticker still on it

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A

Sad To See It Go: No.

Finally, out of hospital!  5 long days.  Of the pending write-up, I went for what I thought was the best and easiest to write about.  Then I realized I hadn't heard it in over 30 years and had to put some reps into it.

The breakthrough Jayhawks album was their third after a couple indie records.  It might've been the last band one would predict for mainstream success, but it got out there, if not quite on Rick Rubin charting level. I seem to remember my friend John excited about it when he worked at Strawberries.

This album is nearly flawless in terms of track by track.  With the Black Crowes on the map, there was room in that landscape for a straight 70's sounding rock record in the realm of mid-tempo Stones, Tom Petty or Neil Young.  Except you don't focus on a singular vocalist so much as the duo of Gary Louris and Mark Olson.  Olson left the band in 1995 to take care of his MS-afflicted wife Victoria Williams and has been in and out over the years. He was last back on Mockingbird Time in 2011.

As for songs, "Take Me With You (When You Go)" is my long running favorite as well as the opener "Waiting On The Sun."  "Wichita" where the fields are smiling is up there as well.

La-la-la.