Vagabonds

Performer: Gary Louris
Engineer: Thom Monahan
Producer: Chris Robinson
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Jonathan Wilson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, organ, bass guitar); Joshua Grange (pedal steel guitar); Adam MacDougal (keyboards); Otto Hauser (drums, percussion); Chris Robinson, Johnathan Rice, The Chapin Sisters, The Laurel Canyon Family Choir, Farmer Dave, Susanna Hoffs, Andy Cabic, Jenny Lewis. After decades of perfecting the alt-country sound with the seminal Jayhawks, Gary Louris released this sterling solo debut in 2008. VAGABONDS acts as the perfect crystallization of everything the movement championed: the marriage of country music's economy and emotion with the saw-toothed production sound of modern alternative rock--here, coming courtesy of producer and Black Crowe Chris Robinson. If Gram Parsons had lived, this is the record he would have made in 2008: full of swooning heartbreak, death obsession, vaguely psychedelic imagery, and yearning, nostalgic vocals. As guitarist and frequent songwriter with the Jayhawks, Gary Louris was on hand from the group's atmospheric country-influenced early recordings to their later grand-scale pop productions, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Louris' first solo album should embrace both ends of this musical spectrum. Vagabonds manages to sound grand and organic at once, with the arrangements and production capturing a sense of the wide open spaces of Hollywood Town Hall and Rainy Day Music, especially on the beautifully heart-tugging "She Only Calls Me on Sundays," while also encompassing the more ambitious melodic conceits of Smile and Sound of Lies on tracks like "Black Grass" and "Omaha Nights." There's also quite a bit of stylistic cross-talk between these two poles, and Louris' lyrics reach for a more personal and philosophical tone than he's offered in the past. There's a poignant search for answers in "Omaha Nights" and a longing for the solace of love in "To Die a Happy Man" that digs deeper into the psyche than he's been willing to go in the past, and even simpler compositions such as "We'll Get By" and "I Wanna Get High" reveal a new level of maturity and a willingness to experiment. Louris has rarely if ever been in better form as a singer than he is on Vagabonds, delivering his lyrics with a passion and sincerity that serve their emotional power well, and his guitar work is as strong and forceful as ever. Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes produced the sessions (with Thom Monahan engineering), and the pairing is an inspired one; the result is an album that sounds full-bodied but natural and uncluttered, and gives Louris' fine songs plenty of room to reveal their virtues. Anyone who has followed the Jayhawks' career knows that Gary Louris is a major talent, and Vagabonds demonstrates he's still capable of making remarkable music outside the framework of the band. ~ Mark Deming

Rolling Stone (p.83) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "VAGABONDS is sweet, cosmic American music retrofit for 8-track players." Entertainment Weekly (p.65) - "Here, low-key laments easily compare to the Jayhawks' best work. Exquisite vocal support comes from Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis and the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson..." -- Grade: A- Uncut (p.93) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With Chris Robinson of Black Crowes producing, and a band including Otto Hauser on drums, and Josh Grange on haunting steel, Louris sings sweetly, delicately, and as sadly as he ever did." Q (Magazine) (p.107) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[With] the acoustic feel of the songs peppered with biting electric guitar...[and] choral backing vocals by an army of friends revelling in gospel salvation." Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "VAGABONDS offers 12 refreshingly uncomplicated songs, unified by an air of hope and optimism." Harp (magazine) (p.103) - "[It's the] recurring gospel flourishes, courtesy of guests like the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs and producer Chris Robinson of Black Crowes, and Josh Grange's pedal steel that provide the soul of the album." Record Collector (magazine) (p.91) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "A record rich in understated musical intimacy and lyrical soul-searching, it favourably survives comparisons to his band's best work."

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