Reviews:: Gary Louris Vagabonds

There's not really much point in giving any type of back story to Gary Louris. If you are a fanatical Jayhawks fan, you already know more about the man than I do, and if you aren't, well it doesn't really matter. The main thing is that after 20 years of making music, Louris has finally released a solo disc that should find a home on everyone's shelf. It won't, but that makes little difference to me when I talk about Vagabonds.

The record is simply beautiful. That's really all I should have to say about this collection of songs, but it deserves more. Louris manages to channel the floating melodies of LA in the 70's - I hear early Gram Parsons or David Crosby, but never feels dated or forced. I think (which shocks me) that has a lot to do with the help of Chris Robinson's production, as the instrumentation never crowds the gentle melodies but compliments the vibe of the record perfectly.

The band and contributers balance his spot on vocals with pedal steel and keys (they twinkle like stars in the sky on To Die a Happy Man) and gentle swells of choral backings (courtesy of Jenny Lewis, Johnathan Rice, Susanna Hoffs, and The Chapin Sisters). If you can listen to the gentle uplift of the steel on DC Blues and not let your thoughts drift to driving a car in the summer as the sun starts to set, you are a better man than me.

The are so many magical moments on this record - the gospel fueled, hand clap heavy conclusion of To Die a Happy Man, the echoing backing vocals and distortion on I Wanna to Get High or the unashamed nod to years past on the harmonica filled Vagabonds - that Louris could jump from being judged as one of the driving forces of a legendary band to a completely relevant player in today's alt-country landscape. He probably won't, but isn't it great to think he might?

[MP3]:: True Blue

Gary is playing @ Richards on Richard March 17th.