Golden Smog Albums (5)
'Blood on the Slacks'
Release Date 4/24/2007
Tracks 8
Label Lost Highway
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What The Critics Say
Golden Smog introduces their fans to the "post-Jeff Tweedy era" on this eight-song EP, the first release from the semi-supergroup to not feature the Wilco frontman as part of the lineup since 1995's Down by the Old Mainstream. Given Tweedy's minimal participation on the 2006 album Another Fine Day, his absence shouldn't come as a tremendous surprise, and this EP follows a creative lead similar to the album, dominated by smart but gently sloppy melodic structures and vocals that wobble back and forth between heartfelt and purposefully goofy. (Two of the songs here, "Can't Even Tie Your Own Shoes" and "Look at You Now," are leftovers from the sessions for Another Fine Day, so it's no wonder some of the approach rubbed off.) A few numbers, like the keyboard-dominated "Magician" and the shambolic punk pastiche closer, "Insecure," sound as if they were tossed off for laughs, and two covers pad out the running time, but "Without a Struggle" is a splendid new song buoyed by Gary Louris' vocals and "Scotch on Ice" sounds like a rough draft for another fine number if these guys ever buff off the rough edges. With the future seemingly hazy for both the Jayhawks and Soul Asylum (whose members dominate Golden Smog at the moment), Blood on the Slacks' pearly moments suggest these guys might be saving some of their top-shelf ideas for this band for a change, even if they didn't spend a lot of time sweating over the finished product. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Another Fine Day'
Release Date 7/18/2006
Tracks 15
Label Lost Highway
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What The Critics Say
In 1998, when Golden Smog released their second full-length album, Weird Tales, they were the premier supergroup of the alt-country movement, featuring key members of two of the scene's biggest acts, Wilco and the Jayhawks, as well as roots-friendly guitarist Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum. Eight years later, things are different for everyone involved with the band; alt-country never enjoyed the commercial breakthrough many were expecting, Wilco evolved into a noise-friendly prog-pop band, the Jayhawks got less twangy and more expressively hooky on the road to breaking up, Soul Asylum effectively dropped off the map for close to a decade, and 2006's Another Fine Day audibly reflects the many changes these musicians have gone through. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco is now easily the biggest name in this band, and significantly, he's more stingy with his time; his songwriting credits amount to two songs penned with Jayhawk Gary Louris, and he only appears on six of the disc's 15 tracks. However, the more adventurous musical palate that Wilco has embraced is certainly felt, with a veneer of tastefully applied noise noticeable on numbers such as "Beautiful Mind" and "You Make It Easy." The real creative movers behind the album are former Jayhawks Marc Perlman, Kraig Jarret Johnson, and Gary Louris; they wrote the bulk of the material as well as dominating the instrumental credits, and their work here suggests a slightly more "out there" variation on the expressive pop textures of Sound of Lies and Smile. (Oddly, "Listen Joe," which Louris wrote with Tweedy, more closely resembles the more subtle approach of Rainy Day Music.) In this context, Dan Murphy sounds more like a hired gun than anything else, though he's clearly simpatico with the other players and when he gets a chance to come to the forefront his rock gestures and well-controlled feedback are a welcome part to the band. One of the results of Tweedy's lesser degree of participation on these sessions is Another Fine Day sounds less scattershot and more unified than Golden Smog's earlier efforts, which makes sense since the core of this band had been working together for years, and the results seem less like a genially thrown-together side project than the work of a real band. The only drawback for fans is this Golden Smog doesn't bear much aural resemblance to the band that made Down by the Old Mainstream and Weird Tales; then again, the bands who make up Golden Smog's membership don't sound much like they did back then, either, so that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Weird Tales, the second album from alt-country supergroup Golden Smog, while in theory a collective banging of the guitars, basses, and drums of its principal players, is actually a series of solo tunes by those artists fleshed out by a backing band consisting of like-minded, and extremely capable, performers. That doesn't make it any less a fine- or well-intentioned album, it's just not the one-for-all, all-for-one group project that it's built up to be. Think of it as the White Album process: everyone (including members of Run Westy Run, the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Big Star, and Wilco) gets a chance to toss a tune or two into the consolidated song bin and let the gang go at it. And as expected, the best songwriters here (Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy) contribute Weird Tales' most solid tracks. A pet project aimed more toward fans of the genre than the casual listener, Golden Smog nonetheless deliver the goods with a good deal of twangy heart and soul. ~ Michael Gallucci, All Music Guide
'Down by the Old Mainstream'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 14
Label Rykodisc
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What The Critics Say
Like most supergroup projects, Golden Smog's Down By the Mainstream is a loose, relaxed affair that sounds like it was a lot of fun to record. Unlike most supergroups, the members of Golden Smog improve on their regular bands. Comprised of a number of alternative country-rock stars -- including Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, the Jayhawks' Gary Louris, and Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy -- the musicians are releaxed and loose, giving the songs a raw, rootsy kick. Since the album wasn't carefully considered, it has an offhand, relaxed charm that is sometimes lacking from Jayhawks and Soul Asylum albums. Not all of the songs are first rate -- "Pecan Pie" and "Red Headed Stepchild" are a bit too cute to be effective -- but the performances are full of grit and fire, which is what makes Down By the Mainstream such an engaging listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
