For all that The Jayhawks after Olson had left were still pretty good, that Louris did interesting things in Golden Smog and that Olson’s own solo career has yielded a certain gypsy-ish charm, they could never recapture the vibrant spark that burned when these two wrote and sang together on the first four Jayhawks LPs.

So as they tour Europe in support of their new collaboration Ready For The Flood, they find a great deal of awed attention aimed their way by their now balding fans. It’s been too long.

The new songs are what you would expect from two reflective, liberal alt-country singers in the throes of middle age – wistful, abstract songs that maintain the warm mix of Olson’s flat, nasal vocals and Louris’s beautifully soulful croon, in fine, fine fettle at the age of 53.

However, these compositions pale in comparison with the likes of ‘Two Angels’, ‘Nothing Left To Borrow’, ‘I’d Run Away’ and the sublime ‘Sister Cry’. All of which were more emotive than renditions of their two signature tunes, ‘Waiting For The Sun’ and ‘Blue’. One quibble with all this could be the presence of a bongo-player (these songs are way too pop for that sort of thing), plus I really really wanted them to hug. But never mind.

Barnaby Smith