The Winds Of Change Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alt-Country

Initially alternative country bands were seen as those that had successfully melded the influences of country music with elements of rock and roll. Moving forward that definition has been broadened and we now use the same term for country artists who apply the influences of punk, rockabilly, bluegrass and folk amongst a wealth of other genres to their craft.

The Jayhawks' first album, often labelled as the "Bunkhouse Album" (after their label, Bunkhouse Records) by their fans is, essentially, a country music album. The disc documents a young band still finding their feet. There's a raw, sometimes clumsy feel to the record but a number of things shine through. First of these are the harmonies conjured by Mark Olson and Gary Louris and, despite the fact they only worked together for a short span, these would be a signature statement for the band in all their recordings going forward. This album is also very upbeat in tempo and it doesn't hint strongly at the contemplative path their music would follow in the future. And, despite these being their tender years, there is a cleverness in the songwriting. There are however, two tracks - "Let the Critics Wonder" and "King of Kings" - that do provide a hint to where the band's future lay.

Answer: Car accident

Louris' car accident occurred in 1988 and he was replaced in the band by Dan Gaarder for their live shows and three tracks on the album. Louris is still credited as a band member as he still played on most of the tracks. The reason for this is that the album is a collection of demo tracks the band had compiled in the three year period since their debut. They had hoped that these would lead to a deal with a major recording label. That didn't eventuate. Louris still managed to find his way into the studio to overdub some of his guitar parts. He would re-join the band later.

Because the album is represented by a number of demos it lacks cohesiveness and has a cobbled-together feel about it. The band's harmonies still shine through and there was continued growth in their song-writing, which caught the attention of the American label, who signed them on for their next recording.

Answer: Gram Parsons

Gram Parsons released "Safe at Home" in 1968. It is argued by many that this was the first country-rock album. In the same year he joined the Byrds, releasing "Sweethearts of the Rodeo", praised as the most influential album of that genre. Not resting on his laurels, Parsons formed The Flying Burrito Brothers who would provide the genre with a sense of respectability.

The Los Angeles Times critic, Steve Hochman, lavished praise on the Jayhawks' album "Hollywood Town Hall", stating that Olson and Louris "would have done top Burrito Gram Parsons proud". Even Allmusic's Ned Ruggett spoke of the Parson influences in his review. "Hollywood Town Hall" is the album on which the Jayhawks put a definitive quality to their sound. So much so that many critics have labelled this their finest recording. Critics noted that they did not try to copy the Eagles, they did not pander to popular trends, they did not try to "juice up" their power with the advent of the game changing grunge sound and, most importantly, they did not hang onto that alluvium slush that so defined the late 1980s. They did not bow to any trend and still produced a finely balanced album that won them a new market of fans.

Answer: His wife

"Miss Williams' Guitar" is, at its base level, a joyous love letter from Olson to his new wife. His new wife was Victoria Williams, a singer, well known for her work in folk music, country and alt country. In 1995 she was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis), which saw Olson, one of the band's principal songwriters, leave the band to look after and care for her. Sadly, Olson and Williams would go their separate ways some ten years later.

The Jayhawks' previous album, "Hollywood Town Hall", was strongly hailed by critics, established the band's sound and significantly raised their profile. Now, with their new album, there was expectation. There was pressure to continue with this excellence. And they succeeded. As one critic wrote "If "Hollywood Town Hall" is to be their masterpiece, then "Tomorrow the Green Grass" comes a very close second". Driven, once again, by Olson and Louris' powerful harmonies, the band added a new dimension to their sound by introducing keyboard player Karen Grotberg into the mix. Louris produced some guitar solos that managed to add a little grunt to their songs without disguising their overall gentle nature.

Answer: False

It's true that the band did change direction and, yes, this did not sit well with some of their fans; however, the album still performed solidly on the charts, peaking at number 112, only a little behind their previous disc, "Tomorrow the Green Grass", which stalled at number 92.

With Olson's departure the song-writing duties fell onto Gary Louris. Louris had taken Olson's departure hard and had recently been divorced. The end result was a set of lyrics that were laced with emotion and some brutal honesty. This led to a set of songs which were much darker in content that Louris endeavored to disguise by steering away from the band's country roots into zones of psychedelia and power pop. The divergence fell flat and led to David Browne, reviewer for Entertainment Weekly, succinctly describing it as "a little bit wimpy country, a little bit wimpy rock and roll".

Answer: Smile

Whether they were looking to shed the ghost of Mark Olson is not known, but, on "Smile" the Jayhawks made stronger efforts to drift away from their early country sounds. To this end they utilized drum loops and synthesizers to produce what could best be described as a "pop" album. Notably, Gary Louris' lyrics were decidedly upbeat and a far cry from the dark pop that haunted their previous venture "Sound of Lies" (1997). The end result was a very good album. The problem was that they ventured into a market where they were placed only mid-stream and didn't provide a product that was full of punch and could launch them into the mainstream. This was never better illustrated than in the headline of the review of the album by the New York Times; "What if You Made a Classic and No-one Cared". The side issue was that it also alienated a solid portion of their loyal fan base.

(Note) "Smile" was an unfinished project by the Beach Boys that was to follow their highly successful 1966 album "Pet Sounds".

Answer: Jakob Dylan

The reviewer in question was Zac Johnson and he was referring to the Byrds' version of "Mr Tambourine Man". Jakob Dylan, who was guest vocalist on the gospel sounding track "Come to the River", is the son of Bob Dylan, the man who originally wrote "Mr Tambourine Man".

"Rainy Day Music" (2003) saw the band produce a disc that was predominantly acoustic in its presentation and harking back to their early alt country roots. The album did sell well for the band but the cream came with the enthusiastic reviews from critics, in particular the first half of the album, which featured some of the best tracks that Louris had written. The folk feel of the album is enhanced by the presence of the banjo, thanks to a featured appearance by Bernie Leadon, a founding member of the Eagles, the accordion and pedal steel guitar. Paste Magazine would add lustre to the album by listing it in its "Top 50" releases of the decade.

Answer: True

Mark Olson left the band in late 1995, after the band's release of the highly rated "Tomorrow the Green Grass", to care for his ailing wife, Victoria Williams. He and Louris were brought together again in 2001 to compose a song for the 2002 film "The Rookie". This led to a number of gigs performing as a duo and, eventually, the release of the album "Ready For the Flood" in 2009. They agreed that they still had some unfinished business to attend to with the band and brought back the original line-up, used for the making of their album "Tomorrow the Green Grass".

Every track on their 2011 album "Mockingbird Time" was an Olson/Louris original. The disc was hailed as one of the band's strongest and, definitely, most focused recording of their career. Certainly, the album was their biggest seller up to this point, climbing to the rare air of number 38 on Billboards 200 album charts. The sad part is that Olson and Louris would have a falling out over payment of royalties and Olson walked out on the band again.

Answer: R.E.M.

Mark Olson had left the Jayhawks in 1995. The band's next album (without him), "Sound of Lies" (1997), produced a series of dark pop songs, eclectic in nature, that seemed disjointed and directionless. When he rejoined the band for their 2011 disc "Mockingbird Time" they were able to produce their most focused piece of work in some time. Now that he'd left again, the fans were on tenterhooks, wondering how the band would respond to Olson's latest departure.

Once again Louris went in search of a new sound but, unlike "Sound of Lies", here their sonic adventure was conducted with both clarity and confidence. The introduction of Buck to direct proceedings saw the band producing guitar sounds that had some jagged edges and a lot more "grunt". Those lonesome pastoral sound that the band was well noted for now held a great deal more spice. Supporting all this, as always, were Louris' melodies and vocals, buoyed by a new energy that he seemed to have found.

Answer: Dixie Chicks

After forming in 1985 the Jayhawks managed to release their tenth album in 2018. Ten albums across a span of thirty three years may not sound like much but one should not forget that the band did endure two long hiatuses during this period. In addition they were also noted for their many collaborations with other artists, which included (the amazing) "Short Man's Room" (1992) with Joe Henry, two Americana albums with Ray Davies (The Kinks), tributes to the likes of Johnny Cash and Alejandro Escovedo and the revolving door project that was called The Golden Smog, drawing members from the Jayhawks, The Replacements, Wilco, Big Star and Soul Asylum, to name a few. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned their bodies of solo projects.

At the end of all this comes "Back Roads and Abandoned Motels" on which nine of the eleven tracks were all previously recorded collaborations with other artists. On this album the Jayhawks are putting their own spin on those songs. Tracks here include collaborations with the Dixie Chicks; "Everybody Knows", "Bitter End", and "Come Cryin' to Me". Keyboardist Karen Grotberg takes on lead vocals on the latter number and produces a sound reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac. Other collaborations here include the haunting "Gonna Be Darkness" with Jakob Dylan and "Need You Tonight" with Scott Thomas. A cynic may argue that Gary Louris was running out of ideas but what this album manages to do is showcase the rich talent, craftsmanship and harmonies that have resided within this band for decades.