Mark Olson

During the brief moment in the 1990s when it looked like alt-country might break through to the mass audience, the Jayhawks seemed like a sure thing for stardom with their beautiful, evocative melodies and stellar guitar work, and the superb songwriting and harmonies of Mark Olson and Gary Louris. The Jayhawks' first two major-label albums, 1992's Hollywood Town Hall and 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass, were shining examples of what was good about the new wave of country-rock, and when Louris left the band in late 1995, even though they continued to make fine music, for many fans they were never quite the same, as if the Jayhawks' greatest promise went unfulfilled. For alt-country loyalists, the prospect of Mark Olson and Gary Louris working together again seems a bit like a reunion of Lennon and McCartney or Simon & Garfunkel, so it's well worth pointing out that Ready for the Flood, Olson and Louris' first recording together since Tomorrow the Green Grass and first ever as a duo, is not a Jayhawks album. The duo's harmonies are as lovely as ever, but though there was a widescreen grandeur to the Jayhawks' best work, Ready for the Flood is a purposefully modest album, with the emphasis on acoustic instruments, unobtrusive arrangements, and songs that tell small stories with a rich but elliptical sense of detail. The nearly 15 years that have elapsed since Olson and Louris last worked together is clear and audible; their voices are as strong as ever, but the maturity and caution of this music is unmistakable, and the production (by Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes) and arrangements give the music a feel that's spectral, as if this is the work of men who are older, wiser, and significantly more introspective than the days when they could call up shades of Crazy Horse or Creedence Clearwater Revival at will. The opening lines of the final song -- "I'm an old and angry man/Can't you see the trap's been set?" -- don't tell the whole story about Ready for the Flood, but the fact they fit so well says a lot about this music, and while there are moments of genuine beauty and grace, this is a far cry from what these men achieved in their prime. One can only hope that Olson and Louris will get the spring back into their step if and when they return to the studio. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide