My Morning Jacket (the album)

[Lucius]

W2 does have Feel You, Wasted and Run It which I consider to be 'top tier' Jacket. But the rest ranges, for me, from 'I have to be in the mood for it', to 'skip like I skip Into The Woods'. I much prefer W1, because it's brighter, much more alive and intriguing musically. I don't think songs like Spring & In Its Infancy get nearly enough love. W2 could have been trimmed down into an EP. Its highs are equal to W1 but its lows... as I said, are equal to Into The Woods!

Both records would have benefitted immensely by being produced like the new album though. Imagine a studio version of Spring that rocks out as much as the recent live versions *drools*

[MMJTX]

I believe that Run It is quickly becoming one of their best live songs akin to Bermuda Highway, Circuital, Golden, etc, not one of the rocking songs but one of their best "damn this is a beautiful song" and it's been SOOOOO good live

[Nikkogino]

Anyone else hear "I eat from the bum of your pant."

[slappymoe]

I feel like this is all just in your heads.  If the band called these 10 songs something other than "2" and told you all they were brand new songs, more people would be gushing for them........Feel You and Wasted are amazing live. 

just not a great album, imo, regardless of name.  and aside from the fine ending jam, which they can tack onto the end of any tune, i think wasted is a lousy song.  but to each his own.

apologies for the hijack. now back to your rsp.

[ChiefOKONO]

So can someone please remind me when was "My Morning Jacket" recorded?  Was it fall of 2019?

How long were they in the studio and which one did they record in?

Thanks!

[Cameron]

Iirc they wrapped it up in march 2020 pretty much as the world was shutting down. All in LA I believe.

[shumatec1012]

If I personally had to rate the songs on the new album it would be as follows:

1. Least Expected
2. In Color
3. Never in the Real World
4. Out of Range
5. I Never Could Get Enough
6. Lucky to be Alive
7. Penny for Your Thoughts
8. Complex
9. Regularly Scheduled Programing
10. Devil's in the Details
11. Love Love Love

[halesdd]

For WF2, it definitely felt more of a bunch of b-sides but I'm ok with that.  And to be fair, we haven't gotten a tour from that album and as we all know, you can really elevate your appreciation for an album or song when they slay it live.  For example, I really liked the song Climbing The Ladder but hearing it at Santa Barbara live stood out and they crushed it.

For ranking the songs on MMJ for me:

1) In Color
2) Least Expected
3) Never in the Real World
4) Regularly Scheduled Programming
5) Lucky to be Alive
6) Penny for Your Thoughts
7) Out of Range
8) Love Love Love
9) Complex
10) Never Could Get Enough
11) Devil in the Details

Of course, it might change tomorrow but that's the order I'm at this far.

[jttouch2]

I've enjoyed S/T a lot thus far. Jim's recent lyrical direction has not been my favorite at all-a lot of that "mystical" earlier MMJ feel is gone when the lyrics are as direct as they are here. That's fine, and I'm happy that Jim feels comfortable being this honest about his thoughts and feelings, it's just not my favorite thing to listen to.

Way too early song rankings:

Out of Range Pt. 2
In Color
Never Could Get Enough
Devil's In the Details
Complex
Least Expected
Never in the Real World
Penny for Your Thoughts
Regularly Scheduled Programming
Love Love Love
Lucky To be Alive

[bhyman]

Finally got to listen several times intently with headphones on. All I can say is wow!!! I'm probably an outlier here, but the combination of the studio work, loose jams, direct lyrics, and general rambunctiousness has put this at the top of my MMJ albums, certainly my release day favorite. That could change over time but I don't see myself ever getting tired of this album. And I don't dislike any tracks on it. You can feel the "liveness" to it from the get go.

I'm speechless... and honestly, surprised how much I love it.  Someone talk me down a bit cuz I feel like I'm fanboying to the extreme. But jeez.... I thought we had heard the last of the band 2 years ago and now it feels like MMJ 3.0 was just released into the wild.

I'm so happy right now.

[MMJCOBRA]

Finally got to listen several times intently with headphones on. All I can say is wow!!! I'm probably an outlier here, but the combination of the studio work, loose jams, direct lyrics, and general rambunctiousness has put this at the top of my MMJ albums, certainly my release day favorite. That could change over time but I don't see myself ever getting tired of this album. And I don't dislike any tracks on it. You can feel the "liveness" to it from the get go.

I'm speechless... and honestly, surprised how much I love it.  Someone talk me down a bit cuz I feel like I'm fanboying to the extreme. But jeez.... I thought we had heard the last of the band 2 years ago and now it feels like MMJ 3.0 was just released into the wild.

I'm so happy right now.

Agree with ....every....single...word...of your post.

I won't rank songs or care about providing a critique right now.  Way too fresh and I'm way in love with record. I'm glad to read everyone else's thoughts though.

I'm just going to let this one simmer on a low boil for the foreseeable future. 

[dookie shoot bandit]

So can someone please remind me when was "My Morning Jacket" recorded?  Was it fall of 2019?

How long were they in the studio and which one did they record in?

Thanks!

Recorded at 64 Sound in LA
In Feb/March of 2020
Mentioned by the band that they finished recording, ate dinner, and members flew back to their respected homes, and 2 days later the world shut down

[Nikkogino]

Loving the album.  Way too early rankings, but for me the album will sit closer to the bottom.  In Jacket terms, though, that isn't a bad thing.  Their catalogue is just so stacked to me. 

At Dawn - 10
ISM - 10
Z - 10
Tenn Fire - 9
Waterfall 2 - 8
Waterfall 1 - 8
Evil Urges - 7.5
MMJ - 7.5
Circuital - 7

[parkervb]

i feel comfortable enough already to say I enjoy it more than both Waterfalls, Circuital and EU. A clear tier down from the remaining catalog slotting somewhere behind Z probably. I think the comment about the combo of studio work, loose jamming and rambunctiousness is a great way to put it. There's obviously some direct lyrics and themes that weren't part of previous albums because it involves a lot of contemporary topics and I don't think Jim's previous lyrical styles would have suited them for the album they needed to make.

[RobRoy286]

A friend and I were discussing our rankings and I just came to the conclusion that I can't do it! The only take I have is this; when trying to reduce the album down to my favorites, the only ones I don't consider are Complex, LLL, and RSP. Maybe unfair because I've had longer to sit with them but also when they were released I didn't immediately love them like the other tracks. So it's those three tied for second place, then an eight-way tie for first place.

As far as albums...

My Morning Jacket / Z
The Waterfall 2
Circuital
The Waterfall
Evil Urges

Won't rank the Quaid albums in there, just different beasts. I honestly couldn't decide between putting Z or MMJ first. Unpopular, I know Z is one of the untouchables, but I see myself going back to MMJ more (talking the studio album itself). It's all arbitrary though - ask me again tomorrow. I really like their entire catalogue. They struck gold with this new album though, and I hope (and assume?) that self-producing will be the norm from here on out.

[Hatfield]

Long time MMJ fan here.  My first show was in 2004 at the Roxy and have poured over every album since.  I loved/love Waterfall II and felt it was their most cohesive and satisfying record since Z although I regularly spin all of the albums in between. 

I'm struggling to fully connect with S/T.  I enjoy the gusto on the jams, the tone of the guitars and don't at all mind the vocal effects.  A few of the melodies are too simplistic and aren't made up for even with the amazing payoffs at the end. 

Right now the songs I am digging most are:

Love, Love, Love
In Color
Least Expected
Penny
I Never Could Get Enough

Never in the Real World is climbing and Devil in the Details is great, just not going to be a go to listen for me.

I'm going to keep trying, this is just initial feelings.

[Nikkogino]

Long time MMJ fan here.  My first show was in 2004 at the Roxy and have poured over every album since.  I loved/love Waterfall II and felt it was their most cohesive and satisfying record since Z although I regularly spin all of the albums in between. 

I'm struggling to fully connect with S/T.  I enjoy the gusto on the jams, the tone of the guitars and don't at all mind the vocal effects.  A few of the melodies are too simplistic and aren't made up for even with the amazing payoffs at the end. 

Right now the songs I am digging most are:

Love, Love, Love
In Color
Least Expected
Penny
I Never Could Get Enough

Never in the Real World is climbing and Devil in the Details is great, just not going to be a go to listen for me.

I'm going to keep trying, this is just initial feelings.

What about Out of Range?

[Mr. White]

I don't usually do "reviews" of MMJ albums, I just listen and love. However, I thought I'd add a little to what some have already said. I did mention not really liking Jim's vocal effects on "Penny For Your Thoughts", but I do love the song. I just wish the vocal effect hadn't been so much. Maybe just a little of it would have made me less put off by it. I don't know. I still love the song. I think I like "In Color" and "I Never Could Get Enough" the most of all the songs. I've listened to it several times every day since last Friday. My wife worked night shift on Sat. & Sun., so I had ample time and opportunity to crank it up on several stereos throughout the house ... ALL NIGHT LONG!!! Had a real good time and feel a strong connectedness to it. Since I also have it on my Bandcamp account, I can play it on demand on my phone, so I do every time I take a break at work. I'm still listening to live MMJ a lot (some of the recent tour Taper Audio of new shows) and some other bands but mostly MMJ. I think the album is strong and stands on its own. I think anyone who is unfamiliar with the band would probably be pretty impressed if given the time and proper volume/headphones to listen to the album all the way through a couple of times without interruption. I always become more accustomed to any album with multiple listens, but this one started falling in place and felt comfortable to me real quickly.

Long Live The Jacket!

[dookie shoot bandit]

I don't know why but every time I hear "Least Expected" I think of this and crack up to myself 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jDdSQlCbJ90

[rkwedge]

I don't know why but every time I hear "Least Expected" I think of this and crack up to myself 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jDdSQlCbJ90

HaHaHa now that's funny, thanks for sharing!