The Jayhawks: Music from the North Country - The Jayhawks Anthology

How unfair it was that the Jayhawks' lustre seemed to fade a little with every passing album, even as the reputation of their alt-country friend and contemporary, Jeff Tweedy of Uncle Tupelo and then Wilco, was burnished. Unlike Tweedy, of course, the Jayhawks chose to stay in one spot, refining their music until it was as soft and warm and comfortable as a favourite cardigan - never an appealing prospect for novelty seekers. The 20 tracks on their first best-of, however, present a strong case for the Minneapolis group being one of the great undervalued bands of the 90s. They survived the departure of one of their two key songwriters, Mark Olsen, halfway through their six-album career, and even thrived: much of their best music - the bitter powerpop of Big Star, bemoaning their lack of success; the gorgeous country rock of Angelyne - comes from their final three albums. Fans can get a deluxe edition of this best-of, with a DVD and a rarities disc, but the best stuff is on the one-CD version, and it's very, very good indeed.