Relix poll: Best My Morning Jacket record

[headhunter]

They sent press copies to the most active members.

ha!!!!     

[itrainmonkeys]

Well, what i really love about this band is the variety both between and within their albums. 

The new one may be their best complete album yet, if judged as as one complete work.  Maybe not the best collection of songs but album themes, recording, tracking arrangement and, yes, songs, this may be their best.  But hell, who knows, after listing TTF as my least favorite of their recorded output, I had a breakthrough this weekend.   :)

Great time to be a fan!  THanks guys!!!!!

I completely agree that variety is the spice of life. For that reason, my favorite bands in the world are MMJ and Wilco. Both are great at constantly reinventing themselves without turning sour.

A man after my own heart. I, too, love these two bands and particularly love the journey they've been on from early days of alt-country/rock to what they are now....which is harder to define by genre but still amazing. I was so disappointed I couldn't make the Americanarama tour.....though I think I'd be even more excited for a tour with just those two bands and longer set times.

[RobRoy286]

Just one man's opinion...

1. It Still Moves
    - Just perfection. Has that old-time MMJ sound but is a way more polished studio effort, which I'm all about. Run Thru-Rollin Back-Just One Thing-Steam Engine is incredible.

2. Z
    - I think this is my favorite album to play straight through. This was the first album with Carl and Bo, right? It's like the beginning of the established lineup we know as MMJ today. Plenty of weirdness throughout the album, and also some real classic cuts (Off the Record, Lay Low, Anytime, and fuckin Dondante)

3. The Waterfall
    - Okay I know I'll lose some forum-cred on ranking this above the likes of At Dawn and The Tennessee Fire. For this, it comes down to studio production. MMJ has rounded out their game, and The Waterfall contains all elements of their past, with a new sound encompassing it all. I love the themes of this album, and the songs are all great within context of each other. Jim's vocals and Bo's keys are standouts.

4. At Dawn
    - With having said what I did about studio production, At Dawn is still a killer album with some of my favorite MMJ tracks (At Dawn, Lowdown, Xmas Curtain, Phone Went West). I became a fan of the band in 2011 from Circuital so my preferences are more towards the "new" sound. I'm not really allowed to miss the old sound because it was long gone by the time I came around. That said, these songs still weave nicely between all the new stuff in the live show.

5. Circuital
    - Is my credibility totally shot now? I've gathered that this is considered by most to be their worst album. Maybe so, but that doesn't make it all that bad. I rank this above Evil Urges because it is what got me into the band. I loved Circuital (the song) when they released it, and it made me want to check them out at Bonnaroo. That decision changed my life, from the second the bass dropped on Victory Dance. What a rocker live. I'm also a HUGE fan of Holdin On To Black Metal, which I see gets a lot of hate around here. Victory Dance, HOTBM, and SST are my favorites and will always be very special to me.

6. The Tennessee Fire
    - Ooookay, I know I'll get some shit for ranking this so low. Not to say I don't like the album, but its lack of production brings it down for me. It's essentially a Jim James demo (a great one, when you take it for what it is). I love this album when I'm in certain moods, it just doesn't have the same playback value that their others do.

7. Evil Urges
    - Meh. This album has some GREAT tracks on it (Evil Urges, both Touch Me's, Highly Suspicious) but it's also got some real filler tracks. Not necessarily bad, but it lacks the same soul that their other albums have (which is funny, because genre-wise, EU is their most "soul" album).

[Jackets N Pones]

Looks like it's not a "proven fact" that Circuital is the least liked album, or Evil Urges for that matter.
Definitely interesting results though. Just proves that each fan has a different view on what each album means to them.

Agreed here. Like I know people disagree with me a lot, but TTF is my least favorite studio effort. However, those songs live are some of my favorites, I mean War Begun, Going to Hell, heartbreaking man just to name a few are unreal live.

Speaking of War Begun, does anybody know how the original acoustic version from TTF transformed into the glorious live version we hear today? Was the original intention to record it acoustic and play it electric live? I remember there is a live version from a radio station on the AD/TTF Demo CD which is electric so maybe that was the plan all along. I have always found it interesting that the solo kind of tails off in the studio recording, almost like they didn't really care about blowing it out on the album. Kind of like how major league baseball clubs will keep prospects in the minors so they can develop even though management knows they could immediately impact the team if they called them up instantly. Anyway I love this song and I have always wondered this...

[AlwxanderD10]

Honestly I think it is impossible to accurately rank all of the MMJ albums simply because they are in two different era's. For example how in the world do you compare Evil Urges to At Dawn or Tennessee Fire? The band has completely evolved and grown since then. I think TF AD and ISM are comparable to each other, and I think Z-current albums are comparable, but its hard to compare between the two for me.

[Stevie]

Looks like it's not a "proven fact" that Circuital is the least liked album, or Evil Urges for that matter.
Definitely interesting results though. Just proves that each fan has a different view on what each album means to them.

Agreed here. Like I know people disagree with me a lot, but TTF is my least favorite studio effort. However, those songs live are some of my favorites, I mean War Begun, Going to Hell, heartbreaking man just to name a few are unreal live.

Speaking of War Begun, does anybody know how the original acoustic version from TTF transformed into the glorious live version we hear today? Was the original intention to record it acoustic and play it electric live? I remember there is a live version from a radio station on the AD/TTF Demo CD which is electric so maybe that was the plan all along. I have always found it interesting that the solo kind of tails off in the studio recording, almost like they didn't really care about blowing it out on the album. Kind of like how major league baseball clubs will keep prospects in the minors so they can develop even though management knows they could immediately impact the team if they called them up instantly. Anyway I love this song and I have always wondered this...

I think probably the biggest reason was answered above, in that The Tennessee Fire was a collection of Jim Demos for the most part.  So at the time of recording, that was his template.  Did he know that he would add to it later?  Maybe, only he knows. 

You know why the Waterfall kicks so much ass?  because it's on one hand a very nicely polished package of cohesive songs....and on the other hand, most of the songs feel like there is a ton of room for injecting or extending some serious jamming. 

[MOWJO8185]

This is where I'm currently netting out:

ISM
Z
At Dawn
The Waterfall
TTF
Circuital
Evil Urges

I will say that the Waterfall is gaining quick ground. I don't know that it will ever pass any of my top 3, but it's not a super big gap.

[grizzy]

This poll would've been SO MUCH EASIER if it included Okonokos.

It didn't so I sophie's choiced At Dawn over ISM. And the fact that it's so hard to pick a favorite is exactly why MMJ is by far my favorite band.

[voxware]

uproxx posted their own ranking today  http://uproxx.com/music/2015/05/my-morning-jacket-ranking-albums/

Kind've relieved to see TTF ranked last on this relix poll so that I don't feel alone/crazy.