''Blue Earth'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

alt country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

and

alt rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

the Jayhawks The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influentia ...

, released in 1989.

History

After the local release of their debut album ''The Jayhawks'', the band recorded a set of demos in order to attract a major label deal. Singer/guitarist

Gary Louris Gary Michael Louris (born March 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist a ...

was injured in a car accident and left the band. Their manager was able to interest Twin/Tone Records in releasing the demos. Louris went to the studio to overdub his guitar parts and ended up re-joining the band. The re-mixed demos were released as ''Blue Earth''.Jayhawks history.
/ref> "Martin's Song" and "Two Angels" were later re-recorded on ''Hollywood Town Hall''. ''Blue Earth'' was re-issued on CD on the

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

label in 2003 with three bonus tracks.

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic Jason Ankeny wrote that due to the songs originally being demos, they lack punch, and noted "the songs are simply too primitive to come to life in this setting. Nonetheless, the growth of the band's songwriting skills over their debut is substantial..." Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

gave the album an A− rating, noting "

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

comparisons get you nowhere, but I'm not kidding—this is the obliquely songful followup the Burritos never made."

Track listing

Personnel

*Mark Olson – vocals, guitar, harmonica *Gary Louris – vocals, guitar *Marc Perlman – electric and acoustic bass *Thad Spencer – drums Additional musicians *Dan Gaarder – lead guitar (on "Ain't No End", "Five Cups of Coffee", "Dead End Angel") *Charlie Pine – organ (on "Sioux City") *Norm Rogers – vocals (on "Sioux City") *Jim Rondinelli – vocals (on "Red Firecracker") Production' *Produced by Jim Rondinelli, Tom Herbers and the Jayhawks

References

External links

Jayhawks fan site discography.
{{Authority control 1989 albums The Jayhawks albums Twin/Tone Records albums