Press: One of the best albums of 2005

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/09_05/09_21_05/art_on_note.html

On that note
By Joe Hooten

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My Morning Jacket
Album: Z
Lable: ATO\RCA Records
4 out of 5


My Morning Jacket's Z, is one of the best albums of 2005.

Ever had a dream so rich in detail, so mesmerizing, so incredibly authentic that when you woke it caused you to sit up in bed and pinch yourself to insure the images and visions were indeed a dream? Did you find it a challenge to recollect exactly what was whispered in your fantasy, originating deep in your subconscious — a gathering place for the mysterious and the unidentified; where sounds are hollow and echo with reverence for the unknown? If you've had such a moment, then the soundtrack to those midnight revelations could easily include Z, the gorgeously produced album from Louisville's greatest rock band, My Morning Jacket.

Formed in 1998 in the eccentric Ohio River town that is eerily similar to Asheville's liberal blend of artisans, musicians, students, and peculiar townies, My Morning Jacket was the concept of singer\guitarist\song-writer Jim James. Their first three major releases, The Tennessee Fire (1999), At Dawn (2001), and It Still Moves (2003) were all recorded on a family farm on the outskirts of town. Grain silos were converted into vocal booths to generate some enriched reverberation that added to the spacey, almost psychedelic, arrangements that could explode with heavy bursts of rhythmic energy or calmly provoke a cerebral revolution drenched in haunting classic rock requiems that recalls Pink Floyd and early Neil Young.

After some significant line-up changes, including the departure of Jim's cousin, and founding member\guitarist, Johnny Quaid, along with keyboardist Danny Cash, both who left at the height of My Morning Jacket's success following the release of It Still Moves in 2003, the band has revived its live performance by adding two new members: Bo Koster (keyboards) and Carl Broemel (guitar). Alongside original founders: James (guitar\vocals), Two Tone Tommy (bass), and Patrick Hallahan (drums), one thing has remained consistent about MMJ — their live shows are second to none. Invigorating, ear-drum damaging, heartfelt and soulful, each show is an incredible look into the musical talents of each member and the combined resonance can serenely wake the dead or transport any concert-goer deeper into a surrealistic world that's created by Jim James's train-of-thought lyrics and his lonesome tenor that's always accompanied by his best friend ... reverb.

The evolution of My Morning Jacket's sound is clearly on display throughout the new album Z. Longtime fans may be surprised to hear morsels of hip-hop injected throughout, possibly influenced by Jim James's collaboration with Bright Eyes Conor Oberst, who's Digital Ash in a Digital Urn was more about cadence and rhythms and less about lyrics and guitar. Fortunately for us, MMJ kept the guitar work and integrated James's unique voice as another musical instrument, one that soars to peaks unheard of until now. The collaborative effort creates a musical tour de force that reminds me of earlier albums yet allows room for the band to explore and invent new musical pieces that are certain to become classics on their own merit.

The album's 10 tracks are set in motion with the R&B infused groove "Wordless Chorus" that feels like a romantic bedtime serenade as Jim Jamess' voice evokes comparisons to a nameless 70s soul singer while maintaining the MMJ appeal. "It Beats For You" follows with a Radiohead-like intro, but the listener will be quickly reminded that this is pure MMJ territory once the whispery vocals enter and the perfectly timed drumming paces the song along as the rest of the band adds their own personal influence. Quickly becoming my personal favorite (both on the record and live) is the hell-raising 2 1\2 minute "What a Wonderful Man." With its sing-a-long chorus, the fourth track on the album finds the band rocking out as hard as ever and still having as much fun as they can, even for such a short track. "Off the Record" resonates a reggae-like guitar riff that could easily be found on an early Police record while James uses his calculated forceful scream to create a fist-pumping chorus: "You've got to want to rearrange it\Keep it ... Off the Record\You've got to know we will change it\Keep it ... Off the Record."

Jim James and the band decided to record the album in upstate New York; while isolated in the Catskill Mountains they found inspiration and created something that will eventually be regarded as an archetypical piece of music, set to be replicated and referenced for years to come. It goes without saying that when the album comes out Oct. 4, you should rush to your local record store to buy it. But for a true treat, the next time they play in our area, make sure you're front and center and ready to rock!

Release Date: October 4th, 2005

Joe Hooten is a Western Carolina & UNC-Chapel Hill alum and a teacher. He plays a 1971 double-cutaway Gibson Les Paul with Elixir Strings for fun on the weekends. He can be reached at thatbeat@hotmail.com.

[dragonboy]

You already know it, right?
Top 10 in every well respected music mag at the end of the year!
Thanks for posting Laurie  :)