I didn't know they called it a day. Not surprising really as their number of shows had trickled to a drip.
Well, I never got any official word or anything, but their website is down, and Jason said it was a done deal as far as he knew.
374. IRON & WINE - The Sea & the Rhythm 5 song EP with a few real gems on it. The first 2-3 especially.
375. IRON & WINE - Our Endless Numbered Days The sound expands quite a bit with the addition of percussion and other instrumentalists. More of a band feel than previous releases. One of my favorites of last year. Great album cover too.
376. IRON & WINE - Woman King On the one hand, I always wish EPs were full length CDs, but I also realize a lot of time band will released full lengths one year and EPs the next. That way they get to put something out every year, and that works for me. Some great tunes on this new EP that just came out a few days ago.
377. CHRIS ISAAK - Silvertone Pretty good debut. Good album, but nothing spectacular. Some really solid tunes though. Two of these songs later showed up on Baja Sessions and they were wise to do so. They took good songs and vastly improved them on the later recording.
378. CHRIS ISAAK - Chris Isaak Second album is a vast improvement over the first. Some really good songs including "Blue Hotel."
379. CHRIS ISAAK - Heart Shaped World Three albums into his career, Isaak finally delivers a fantastic album. This shows the days when a label would stick it out with an artist for a little while until they hit their stride. Plenty of great bands aren't given three albums to hit their stride these days. They're lucky if they aren't gone after their first if it isn't a mega-hit. They might be given two. Hopefully the industry will return to this formula. If he'd started his career a decade later, we might not know who he is. Includes the one song everyone knows him for, "Wicked Game." Other standouts include "Blue Spanish Sky," "In the Heat of the Jungle," and "Don't Make Me Dream About You."
380. CHRIS ISAAK - San Francisco Days For some reason, it took him 4 years to put out his next record. Luckily for everyone involved, it was worth the wait. "Can't Do a Thing (To Stop Me)," "Solitary Man," and a few others on the disc rank among my all-time favorites of his.
381. CHRIS ISAAK - Forever Blue This may very well be my favorite album of his. He's had plenty of good break up songs and longing songs, but this album is full of 'em. "Forever Blue" the songs is one of the best tunes he's ever written, "Goin' Nowhere" is a harsh take on an old flame, "Go Walking Down There" is probably the most angry he's ever gotten on record (who knew he had it in him?) This disc also provided a song that would be a hit for him many many years after it was released. "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" appeared in the movie Eyes Wide Shut and gave this album some much-deserved attention several years later.
382. CHRIS ISAAK - Baja Sessions Recorded in, you guessed it, Baja. Pretty loose record, but it's a style that suits his music well. A few tunes from earlier albums, some new material and few great covers including Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely" and one I'm not sure who did it originally, but the song is "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)"
383. CHRIS ISAAK - Speak of the Devil Underrated album that is one of my favorites. "Please," "7 Lonely Nights," "Super Magic 2000," "Like the Way She Moves" and the title track are some of my favorite CI tunes.
384. CHRIS ISAAK - Always Got Tonight Not his strongest effort, but still very enjoyable and definately worth owning.
385. ISTANA MANGKUNEGARAN - Court Gamelan, Volume II Slower gamelan music from the Mangkunegaran court. Beautiful stuff. Different, and not for everyone, but quite stunning if you can get used to it.
386. JADE BRIDGE - Ambush On All Sides Chinese classical music performed by a quartet: instruments are erhu, pipa, yangqin, dizi. Pretty good, but I don't listen to it all that much. I will probably sell it to make room for something else since I have albums of Chinese music I listen to more frequently.
387. THE JAYHAWKS - Blue Earth My least favorite Jayhawks album, but it's still a darn good record. Gives a glimpse of the brilliance that lay ahead for these guys and gals.
388. THE JAYHAWKS - Hollywood Town Hall A truly essential album that will enhance any collection. Not my favorite album by them, but it ranks way up there. Some amazing songs on this disc like "Waiting For The Sun" (not a Doors cover), "Settled Down Like Rain," "Crowded in the Wings," and many more.
389. THE JAYHAWKS - Tomorrow the Green Grass The last Jayhawks album with Mark Olson on it. A really solid disc, but not as good as Hollywood Town Hall.
390. THE JAYHAWKS - Sound of Lies The first Jayhawks album without Mark Olson and my favorite Jayhawks record. Gary Louris' creative genius starts to really shine on this one. Not that he and Olson weren't a great songwriting team, but I like the group better under the leadership of Louris. I helped promote a show by the band on this tour.
391. THE JAYHAWKS - Smile A splendid, but probably underrated record. This is one of the albums that figures big in my relationship with my wife. I mean that in the sense that this record is kind of the "soundtrack" of a certain very meaningful period in our lives. Every time I put it on it transports me back to that summer when we decided we wanted to get married. Sappiness over.
392. THE JAYHAWKS - Live From the Women's Club Live acoustic show recorded on 26 April 2002. I think it can only be purchased at shows.