The Jayhawks, led by Mark Olson (a vocal and poetic doppelgänger of Gram Parsons), made their mark in the Minneapolis scene of the Replacements, no easy feat. Their sound was the most elemental country-rock, with discreet counterpoints from guitarist Gary Louris. On their first album (Bunkhouse, 1986), The Liquor Store Came First stands out as a melancholic and nostalgic ballad.

It took three years for the follow-up Blue Earth (Twin Tone, 1989) to appear, which was, among other things, assembled from tapes of a series of more or less casual sessions, without the preparation usually devoted to an album. Despite this, the record maintains the level of the first, and Olson’s “American” stories (Two Angels, Martin's Song) sound even more atmospheric.

Hollywood Town Hall (Def American, 1992) is somewhat Olson and Louris’ Harvest, featuring a nervous, electric sound, Everly Brothers-style vocal harmonies, and even Rolling Stones-inspired syncopated rhythms. The work is weaker than its predecessors, but the singles Waiting For The Sun, Crowded In The Wings, and Take Me With You (as well as reissues of some past tracks) finally break through in the specialized press.

The highly arranged Tomorrow The Green Grass (American, 1995) is then their Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. With Karen Grotberg on keyboards, providing voice for Fleetwood Mac-style duets, the band paints atmospheric ballads like Nothing Left To Borrow and See Him On The Street. The single Blue, building its melodic progressions on soaring highs and Elton John-style orchestral arrangements, primarily reflects a more pronounced commercial talent. When the band tries to play bar-band rock, however, it overreaches on too-aggressive tracks like Real Light, I'd Run Away, and Ten Little Kids. Less tethered to their models (Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Robbie Robertson), the Jayhawks’ sound exposes all its limitations: few memorable choruses, few chords that avoid clichés, few lyrics worth noting. The few tracks that have something to say are in the Band’s tradition: Miss Williams' Guitar, dedicated to Olson’s wife, and Red's Song, finally moving with the step of the classics. In the end, these are only very whiny songs.

Gary Louris e Marc Perlman suonano anche nei Golden Smog.

Sound of Lies (American, 1997) is essentially a Gary Louris album, since Olson had departed. The style changes drastically: introspective pop (Big Star), tastefully arranged (almost psychedelic Poor Little Fish, orchestral Dying On The Vine, piano-driven It's Up To You), but rarely passionate (The Man Who Loved Life, Think About It).

Smile (Columbia, 2000) is a a slightly more aggressive outing from a band that has probably outrun its time. As the album's title and the title of one of the songs let understand (they explicitly refer to the Beach Boys), Smile and I'm Gonna Make You Love Me are too overworked to be simple pop. Baby Baby Baby rocks hard. Only the duets between leader Louris and new keyboardist Jen Gunderman (What Led Me To This Town and A Break In The Clouds) steer towards alternative country.

The Jayhawks' former frontman Mark Olson and his wife Victoria Williams have recorded several albums of rustic folk music under the moniker The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers (1997) My Own Jo Ellen (Hightone, 2000) is, de facto, his solo debut. Nostalgic and melancholy, the music does rises above the average country standard only in Walking Though Nevada and especially Letter From Africa (a surreal ethnic vignette), while Meeting in Lone Pine, Linda Lee and Ben Johnson's Creek indulge in the genre's stereotypes.

Gary Louris kept steering the Jayhawks towards retro-pop, Merseybeat and folk-rock on Rainy Day Music (American, 2003), a double-cd album. The band had by then lost keyboardist Jen Gunderman and guitarist Kraig Johnson, and was pared down to Louris, bassist Marc Perlman, drummer Tim O'Reagan, and new guitarist Stephen McCarthy. Compared with the previous album, this one is certainly less pop. The reference points, instead, are the Byrds (Stumbling Through the Dark) and Crosby Stills & Nash (Madman). However, Louris achieves a more credible sense of aesthetic independence with the gentle waltz of Will I See You in Heaven and the tender serenade of Angelyne.

Blue Earth (Ryko, 2003) collects some Jayhawks demos.

Jayhawks' original vocalist Mark Olson played in the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers with his wife Victoria Williams, and then launched his solo career as a mellow country-pop bard with The Salvation Blues (Hacktone, 2007).
Meanwhile, Gary Louris' Vagabonds (2008) was a mediocre journey through the nation's psyche and the various facets of roots-rock.
Ready For The Flood (New West, 2009) was a mediocre collaboration between Mark Olson and Gary Louris.
The very spartan Olson solo Many Colored Kite (2010) reenacted a wildly abused routine, the self-congratulatory bedroom confessions of the solitary artist.

Music From The North County: The Jayhawks Anthology (American, 2009) is a career retrospective.

The original lineup reunited for the mediocre Mockingbird Time (2011).

Later albums include: Paging Mr. Proust (2016), Back Roads and Abandoned Motels (2018), XOXO (2020).