Smile

Sound DNA

• Country
• Americana & Roots

• warm
• earnest
• pastoral

About

2000’s <i>Smile</i> took the pop direction suggested on 1997’s <i>Sound of Lies</i> to heart. And with legendary heavyhanded producer Bob Ezrin (who’s produced Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, and Kiss), The Jayhawks expanded their musical palette to include brilliant orchestration where country-rock once filled their souls. The title track is an epic opener unlike any previous opening track. It leads into the bright, poppy “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me.” Ezrin adds a few cowrites, including “Somewhere in Ohio,” “Queen of the World,” and “(In My) Wildest Dreams”; they all show signs of his influence in the performances and the creative mixes. This 2014 reissue adds six bonus tracks, including the studio outtakes “Who Made You King” and “Gypsy in the Mood,” a previously unreleased live version of “Life’s Little Ups and Downs,” and demos of “A Part of You” and “Five Cornered Blues” that are also previously unreleased. The addition of synthesizers makes a novel move for a band otherwise linked to the alt.country scene.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits