Another Fine Day

Golden Smog’s first creation as a real band

Golden Smog appeared in 1992, when guys from different rock bands gathered together to record a few cover songs for the St. Paul, Minnesota Crackpot Records. Today the alt-country super-group comprises Gary Louris and Mark Perlman from Jayhawks, Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum, Kraig Johnson from Run Westy Run and Jeff Tweedy from Wilco. Their first record with 5 covers was called On Golden Smog and the second, 1996’s full-length Down By The Old Mainstream, made them one of the most popular super-groups in the United States. Weird Tales followed in 1998 and that also contained covers, well done and originally transcribed. Since the last creation there has been an 8 years long time out for recording something special – an album consisting of 15 tracks one of which only being a cover version. For the first time of Golden Smog’s existence the fans have a chance to hear the guys as a real band and a great one and finally understand how indeed talented these musicians are. The album has been recorded in two sessions – the first in Spain, in the personal studio of producer and engineer Paco Loco, and the other in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the guys have had a lot of fun during that work.

Another Fine Day has less country and more rock traits

Another Fine Day is quite a long record consisting of 15 tracks each of which has its own mood. The keyboards and synthesizers on the album have acquired a beautiful harmony and electric guitars are combined with amps and backed up by the drums creating powerful and fantastic sounds. The opening You Make It Easy is a little bit dark rock number with some elements of pop music perfectly fitting the song while Beautiful Mind sounds has some intangible feeling of excitement and it makes the track especially touching. Listen Joe performed by Tweedy and Louris is a graceful, elegiac ode devoted to a lost friend. The first single from Another Fine Day 5-22-02 is a strong and memorable track, sung by Johnson with background vocal support by Louris, Murphy and Holly Marilyn. The harmonica and piano combination on Gone utterly composed by Gary Louris can easily become one of your favorites on the record, as well as Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy’s most remarkable rock track Hurricane in which one can almost hear the roaring wind. The whole album has less country and more rock traits than Golden Smog’s previous works and these changes together with really good songs add to its irrefutable success.

All the 15 tracks are just superb

Luckily for us some people have so many ideas and a gift to fulfill them as do the members of Golden Smog. Singing and playing in one band only is not at all enough for them and they unite into a new supergroup to support each other and get an opportunity to reveal their talents. Performing covers however is one thing and composing and recording one’s own songs is the other. Having established themselves as a super-group Golden Smog has made something that has turned out to be quite surprising and not unpleasantly. Of course wishing to satisfy those who liked their previous work the guys have inserted the cover of Kinks’ Dave Davies’ song Strangers and it is very up to the point. Another advantage of this creation is the participation of a great drummer Linda Pitmon playing percussion with the bands Steve Wynn and Zuzu's Petals and vocalist Muni Loco, wife of Paco Loco, who co-produced the disc with Ed Ackerson. These two women contributed greatly to the sound of Another Fine Day. All the 15 tracks are just superb and it is hardly possible to single any of them out. With this album Golden Smog has proved it can much more than simply a super-group.