Product Description

Mark Olson was the founder of The Jayhawks, the most important band to emerge out of the 90's alt-country scene. Olson left after their most successful album, 'Tomorrow the Green Grass,' to pursue a simpler life in the California desert. A decade later, everything fell apart: Mark's marriage to singer/songwriter Victoria Williams ended, his group The Creekdippers disbanded, and he lost the home he had built by hand. These songs were written in the wake of that profound loss, during the two years he spent homeless - staying with friends in places as far-flung as Norway, Poland, and Wales. Produced by Ben Vaughn, 'The Salvation Blues' is Olson's first true solo album, made with some of LA's best session musicians. This album also features Mark's long-awaited reunion with Jayhawk Gary Louris, who provides harmonies on three songs.

Track Listing

1. My Carol
2. Clifton Bridge
3. Poor Michael's Boat
4. National Express
5. Salvation Blues
6. Keith
7. Winter Song
8. Sandy Denny
9. Tears From Above
10. Look Into The Night
11. My One Book Philosophy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36430 in Music
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Here starts the third stage of Mark Olson's recording career. He first came to prominence as the primary singer-songwriter for the Jayhawks, before leaving that seminal alt-country band to make music with his wife, Victoria Williams, in the more acoustic, organic Creekdrippers. With his reedy voice and elemental imagery, Olson details the painful dissolution of that marriage on this solo album, clinging to music as a lifeline when everything else is lost. In the album-opening "My Carol," he compares his love to "an animal bleeding in the snow," while "National Express" asks "Where's my home? How could I lose this in a day?" Yet musically, "Clifton Bridge" and "Winter Song" rank with the best of his Jayhawks work, and both the title track and "Look into the Night" find redemption in the midst of despair. Gary Louris joins his former Jayhawks bandmate for harmonies on three cuts. --Don McLeese

Review
Olson's best since his Jayhakws days. --HARP --Harp Magazine

Review
(AMG Album Pick) Stripped down, modern desert country music at its very best. --All Music Guide --All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Nervous Music
Mark Olson's "Salvation Blues" begins with the weeper "My Carol" and continues with tracks like "Poor Michael's Boat" and "National Express" that have Olson's nervous vocals with his high and thin voice. The songs "Keith" and "Sandy Denny" appear to be musical biographies of people with problems. While I like this acoustic folk genre, neither Olson's voice nor his songwriting connect with me in much the same way that I've shelved all the Jayhawks CDs after a couple of listenings. "My Salvation Blues" sounds like nervous music for nervous people. It doesn't strike me as overly original or likeable. However, I do like the photography in the booklet. On the closer "My One Book Philosophy," Olson's vocals are particularly painful. I fail to relate. Taxi!

Don't overlook this.
I bought the CD that included a small book of photographs and poetry. The words and images add to the experience of the CD as if to make it more multidimensional. This CD is an experience. It is sometimes risky to associate artists, but fans of the Jayhawks, and I know they're out there, should include this in their collection. It stands on its own and should be considered amongst the best of 2007. The production work, the lyrics, and overall quality of songwriting, not to mention the emotion of some of the songs, really works for me. Similar to Tim O'Regan's CD last year and likely the upcoming Gary Louris CD, these former Jayhawks know how to make the same great music on their own that they made together for many years.

one of his best
Mark since his early days with the Jayhawks has always had a pressence that you can not get enough of,Its good to see hes back after a long lay off,keep up the great music Mark.