Tomorrow the Green Grass

Tomorrow the Green Grass
Studio album by The Jayhawks
Released February 14, 1995
Genre Country rock, alt-country
Length 46:27
Label American
Producer George Drakoulias
The Jayhawks chronology

Hollywood Town Hall
(1992)		 Tomorrow the Green Grass
(1995)		 Sound of Lies
(1997)

Tomorrow the Green Grass is an album by the American alt-country and alt-rock band The Jayhawks, released in 1995. It peaked at number 92 on The Billboard 200 charts.

History

Tomorrow the Green Grass was the last release with singer-songwriter Mark Olson. It is also Karen Grotberg's first appearance as a group member.

"Miss Williams' Guitar" is a tribute to Victoria Williams, Olson's girlfriend at the time (they later married). He would later leave The Jayhawks and form The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers with Williams. The song "Bad Time" is a cover of a Grand Funk Railroad song from All the Girls in the World Beware!!!. The song "Tomorrow the Green Grass" appears on the soundtrack for the movie "National Lampoon's Senior Trip" as track number 13.

The song "Pray for Me" contains unattributed verses from the 19th century poem Beloved, it is morn by Irish author Emily Henrietta Hickey. "Pray for Me" contains lines such as "Beloved it is morn/ Deeper yellow on the corn/ Deeper red on the thorn" that correspond with Hickey's "Beloved, it is morn!/ A redder berry on the thorn/ A deeper yellow on the corn."

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau [2]
Entertainment Weekly A− [3]

Tomorrow the Green Grass received generally positive reviews. In his review for Allmusic, critic Jason Ankeny praised the album and called the album the group's finest.[1] Music critic Robert Christgau wrote the album was "always sincere, never wimpy"[2] and Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A- rating and wrote "This is everything a country-rock album should be. Even those who normally can't stand the genre are likely to be seduced by the plaintive vocal harmonies, pristine melodies, and scrappy-but-lyrical guitar solos..."[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Mark Olson and Gary Louris except as noted.

  1. "Blue" – 3:09
  2. "I'd Run Away" – 3:34
  3. "Miss Williams' Guitar" – 3:06
  4. "Two Hearts" – 3:22
  5. "Real Light" – 3:25
  6. "Over My Shoulder" – 3:41
  7. "Bad Time" – 3:27 (Mark Farner)
  8. "See Him on the Street" – 3:09
  9. "Nothing Left to Borrow" – 3:24
  10. "Ann Jane" – 4:00
  11. "Pray for Me" – 3:39
  12. "Red's Song" – 3:58 (Mark Olson/Gary Louris/Marc Perlman)
  13. "Ten Little Kids" – 4:33 (Olson/Louris/Perlman)

Bonus disc available on some European 1995 versions

  1. "I'd Run Away" - 3:23
  2. "Blue" - 3:11
  3. "Last Cigarette" - 3:24
  4. "Break My Mind" - 3:22
  5. "Tomorrow The Green Grass - 3:37
  6. "Darling Today" - 2:59
  7. "Up Above My Head" - 2:39
  8. "Keith & Quentin" - 2:39
  9. "Leave No Gold" - 5:44

Tracks 1 & 2 recorded for 2 Meter Session (VARA/NPS Holland)
Tracks 3 & 4 taken from the "Bad Time" single
Tracks 5 & 6 taken from the "Blue" single
Tracks 7 & 8 taken from the "Waiting For The Sun" single
Track 9 taken from the European release of the Hollywood Town Hall CD

2011 Legacy Edition track listing

All songs written by Mark Olson and Gary Louris except as noted.

Disc 1:

  1. "Blue" – 3:09
  2. "I'd Run Away" – 3:33
  3. "Miss Williams' Guitar" – 3:06
  4. "Two Hearts" – 3:22
  5. "Real Light" – 3:25
  6. "Over My Shoulder" – 3:40
  7. "Bad Time" – 3:26 (Mark Farner)
  8. "See Him on the Street" – 3:09
  9. "Nothing Left to Borrow" – 3:24
  10. "Ann Jane" – 4:00
  11. "Pray for Me" – 3:39
  12. "Red's Song" – 3:58 (Mark Olson/Gary Louris/Marc Perlman)
  13. "Ten Little Kids" – 4:33 (Olson/Louris/Perlman)
  14. "Tomorrow The Green Grass" – 3:35 (non-album b-side from 1995 single "Blue")
  15. "You And I (Ba-Ba-Ba)" – 4:35 (previously unreleased)
  16. "Sweet Hobo Self" – 3:08 (previously unreleased)
  17. "Last Cigarette" – 3:24 (non-album b-side from 1995 single "Bad Time")
  18. "Sleep While You Can" – 3:51 (previously unreleased)/"Blue From Now On" – 2:47 (hidden bonus track; previously unreleased early demo)


Disc 2 "The Mystery Demos" (all tracks previously unreleased):

  1. "Pray For Me" – 3:42
  2. "Won't Be Coming Home" – 3:50
  3. "No Place" – 4:56
  4. "Precious Time" – 3:29
  5. "Poor Michael's Boat" – 2:54
  6. "Ranch House In Phoenix" – 4:51
  7. "Cotton Dress" – 3:14
  8. "She Picks The Violets" – 3:58
  9. "Bloody Hands" – 3:45
  10. "Up Above The River" – 3:47
  11. "Over My Shoulder" – 3:33
  12. "Blue From Now On" – 3:18
  13. "Hold Me Close" – 4:32
  14. "Turn Your Pretty Name Around" – 4:01
  15. "You And I (Ba-Ba-Ba)" – 5:08
  16. "Red's Song" – 4:29
  17. "Nothing Left To Borrow" – 4:06
  18. "White Shell Road" – 4:07

1-10 are from Demos, February 6, 1992
11-18 are from Acoustic Demos w/George D., 10-92

Personnel

Additional musicians:

Production notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ankeny, Jason. "Tomorrow the Green Grass > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Christgau, Robert. "Tomorrow the Green Grass > Review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sinclair, Tom (February 1995). "Tomorrow the Green Grass > Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 15, 2011.

External links