Sound of Lies

Sound of Lies
Studio album by
Jayhawks
ReleasedApril 22, 1997
RecordedMay 1996
StudioTerrarium Studios, Minneapolis
GenreAlternative rock, alternative country, jangle pop, power pop
Length55:44
LabelAmerican
ProducerBrian Paulson, The Jayhawks
Jayhawks chronology
Tomorrow the Green Grass
(1995) 		Sound of Lies
(1997) 		Smile
(2000)

Sound of Lies is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks. It peaked at number 112 on the Billboard 200. The album marked a stylistic shift from the band's alternative country roots.

Background

The Jayhawks' fourth studio album, Tomorrow the Green Grass released in 1995 to critical praise and feeble commercial success. Despite achieving a minor radio hit in Canada with their single Blue, the album and subsequent tour landed the band nearly $1 million in debt.[1][2] Burnt out, Jayhawks co-founder Mark Olson decided to part ways with the band to pursue music with his wife Victoria Williams.[3] With Olson gone, songwriting responsibilities and band leadership were left up to Gary Louris. Originally intending to start anew, under the name "Six Green Olives", Louris, bassist Marc Perlman, and keyboardist Karen Grotberg decided to retain the Jayhawks moniker.[4] However, the band was keen to move on from their preestablished alternative country sound.[5]

In 1996, the band was writing material for a fifth album; all the while recruiting Golden Smog and Run Westy Run guitarist Kraig Johnson, multi-instrumentalist Jessy Greene of the Geraldine Fibbers, and drummer Tim O'Reagan, who toured with The Jayhawks the previous summer.[6] Perlman co-wrote "Trouble" and "Dying on the Vine" with Louris, while O'Reagan sang lead vocals on his contribution, "Bottomless Cup".

Olson's departure, Louris' on-going divorce, and record label politics all factoring together led the band to believe Sound of Lies would be their last album.[7][6][8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[10]
The Guardian[11]
Los Angeles Times[12]
Mojo[13]
NME5/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[17]
Spin4/10[18]

Sara Scribner of the Los Angeles Times felt that Sound of Lies was the work of the band "still reaching to discover what it is" in the wake of Mark Olson's departure, though noting that "despite battling emotions, muddled messages and elusive experimentation, this is still a brave album."[12] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote that while "the music can still have a breathtaking, across-the-great-divide sweep", the album as a whole "is caught between two worlds—it's a little bit wimpy country, a little bit wimpy rock & roll — and ends up lacking the power of either."[10] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice assigned it a "dud" rating, indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought."[19][20]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Thom Owen called Sound of Lies "the band's most ambitious album to date" and felt that Louris' lyrics "have a naked, emotional honesty which would have been more affecting if the music echoed its sentiment, yet the record still has a subtle grace and power, proving that the Jayhawks remain a distinctive band without Olson."[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Gary Louris, unless otherwise noted.

  1. "The Man Who Loved Life" – 5:00
  2. "Think About It" (Louris, Marc Perlman) – 5:37
  3. "Trouble" (Perlman, Louris) – 4:50
  4. "It's Up to You" – 3:38
  5. "Stick in the Mud" – 3:34
  6. "Big Star" – 4:25
  7. "Poor Little Fish" – 3:56
  8. "Sixteen Down" – 5:23
  9. "Haywire" – 5:21
  10. "Dying on the Vine" (Louris, Perlman) – 5:52
  11. "Bottomless Cup" (Tim O'Reagan) – 4:14
  12. "Sound of Lies" – 3:56
European CD bonus track
  2. "I Hear You Cry" – 3:48 (Perlman)
2014 expanded reissue bonus tracks
  2. "I Hear You Cry" – 3:48 (Perlman)
  3. "Sleepyhead" – 3:29 (B-side of "Big Star" single)
  4. "Kirby's Tune" – 5:34 (Kraig Johnson, Louris, Perlman, Karen Grotberg, O'Reagan) (studio outtake – previously unreleased)
  5. "It's Up to You" – 3:37 (alternate version – previously unreleased)
  6. "Sound of Lies" – 4:24 (rough mix – previously unreleased)

Personnel

The Jayhawks
  • Gary Louris – guitar, vocals
  • Marc Perlman – bass, guitar, vocals
  • Karen Grotberg – organ, piano, keyboards, Wurlitzer, vocals
  • Tim O'Reagan – drums, vocals
  • Kraig Johnson – guitar, E-Bow
  • Jessy Greene – violin, viola, cello
Additional musicians
  • Matthew Sweet – vocals on "Sixteen Down"
  • Pauli Ryan – percussion on "Trouble" and "Dying on the Vine"
  • George Drakoulias – Chamberlin on "Dying on the Vine"
Production
  • Brian Paulson – producer, mixing
  • The Jayhawks - producing
  • George Drakoulias – mixing
  • Jim Scott – mixing
  • Mark Haines – engineer
  • Victor Janacua – engineer
  • Brian Jenkins – engineer
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Mike Scotella – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • Allen Sanderson – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • Joe Zook – assistant engineer
  • Mary Leir - Art direction
  • Dan Corrigan – photography

References

  1. ^ Keller, Jason (January 13, 2011). "The Jayhawks". NOW Toronto. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Schoemer, Karen (July 23, 2000). "What If You Made a Classic and No One Cared?". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Maples, Jon (July 5, 1997). "The Jayhawks". Salon. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Alden, Grant; Blackstock, Peter. The Best of No Depression: Writing about American Music. p. 243. ISBN 978-0292709898.
  5. ^ Moss, Corey (February 5, 1998). "Jayhawks Know The Sound of Lies". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Sound of Lies 2014 Remaster Liner Notes (Media notes). American Recordings.
  7. ^ Rowland, Hobart (February 21, 2011). "A Conversation with Gary Louris of The Jayhawks". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Alleva, Daniel (January 19, 2011). "Interview: Gary Louris of The Jayhawks: The Hawks are Out". The Aquarian. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Owens, Thom. "Sound of Lies – The Jayhawks". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  10. ^ a b Browne, David (April 25, 1997). "Sound of Lies". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  11. ^ Cartright, Garth (April 18, 1997). "The Jayhawks: Sound of Lies (American)". The Guardian.
  12. ^ a b Scribner, Sara (May 10, 1997). "The Jayhawks, 'Sound of Lies,' American Recordings". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  13. ^ Simmons, Sylvie (September 2014). "The Jayhawks: Sound of Lies". Mojo (250).
  14. ^ Cigarettes, Johnny (April 19, 1997). "The Jayhawks – Sound Of Lies". NME. Archived from the original on October 2, 2000. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  15. ^ "The Jayhawks: Sound of Lies". Q (128): 122. May 1997.
  16. ^ O'Connor, Rob (March 28, 1997). "The Jayhawks: Sound Of Lies". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Hunter, James (June 1997). "Son Volt: Straightaways / Jayhawks: Sound of Lies". Spin. 13 (3): 119–20. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  19. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 23, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  20. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Key to Icons". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016.