Z on Year End Lists

[wellfleet]

I believe the album was released after the Grammy submission deadline. Here's hoping that by next year's Grammys, the buzz would have gotten so loud they end up with album of the year.

[LaurieBlue]

They have to submit the album for consideration, too.  I don't see why they wouldn't.  Doesn't really matter.  The whole Grammy thing is not respected much anymore by knowledgeable music fans.  But it still would be a nice feather in their cap and good exposure.

Laurie

[LaurieBlue]

They have to submit the album for consideration, too.  I don't see why they wouldn't.  Doesn't really matter.  The whole Grammy thing is not respected much anymore by knowledgeable music fans.  But it still would be a nice feather in their cap and good exposure.

Laurie

Ack!  That sounded totally condescending and that was not my intention.   A Grammy would be good, yes :-)

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/paper244/news/2006/01/11/AE/BuzzKillers.Here.Are.2005s.Standout.Albums.Haters.Be.Damned-1323076.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailyutahchronicle.com

Daily Utah Chronicle

2) My Morning Jacket, Z

My Morning jacket front man, Jim James, has the coolest name in rock music. Just say it: Jim James. Say it slowly: Jiiim Jaaaaames. It rolls off the tongue. It kind of tingles. Sonically, it's nearly perfect.

All of the same can be said of My Morning Jacket's stellar 2005 release, Z. It is at once a simple, peaceful record and an electric, energetic rock offering. Tracks like "Anytime" and "Lay Low" could've (and would've) been hits in at least seven different points in time over the last 20 years. The album seamlessly blends the band's former jam-rock disposition with a refined, catchy brand of pop restraint. The result? One of the most creative, genre-busting records in years.

Z has an almost Buddhist air of transcendent calm about it-a kind of patience and faith in the beauty and simplicity of singular notes. It never feels rushed. Fittingly, the album opens with the Radiohead-esque "Wordless Chorus," on which James sings, "Tell me spirit/ What has not been done?/ We'll rush out and do it/ Or are we doing it now?"

With Z's breathy lyrics, subdued (when appropriate) and riotous (when needed) guitar licks-balanced by James' beautiful swan voice-the answer very clearly is: Yes, My Morning Jacket. You are doing it now.

-E.G.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

Yes, My Morning Jacket. You are doing it now.

I love that!

[wellfleet]

that's a good review...
and the writer is totally correct. many of these songs would have blended in perfectly in 1976... i don't want to say it's timeless, but it's not *dated*, you know? i don't think it's the type of album you'll pick up in 10 years and be like, what was i thinking? there are a few things i was into before that haven't withstood the test of time.

[CC]

Harp Magazine

#1 - Album of the Year

Last time My Morning Jacket released an album, Harp named it Album of the Year. And here we go again. Wasn't slobbering all over 2003's It Still Moves enough? Can someone else have a turn? Well, for it's sheer aural splendor, exquisite songcraft and general goodness, Z deserves its spot on a pedestal under glass in the lobby of Harp's posh digs-and, by God, a visit to the Pink Elephant Car Wash.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

ah, bless those folks at Harp.  They've got gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood taste!

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/tgif/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/tully/

1. Z, My Morning Jacket: This is a band that made an absolutely huge leap. They already had a big positive going for them -- lead singer Jim James. Now, however, the music caught up. And the result is an album that jumps genres (sometimes mid-song) and both roars and murmurs with brilliance.

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.jambands.com/Features/content_2006_01_15.04.phtml

Favorite Discs and Shows of 2005: Staff Picks
Jambands.com staff
2006-01-15
A number of our editors and regular contributors have given it some thought an delivered these picks from the past year...

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2006/01/19/Muse/More-Of.The.Top.Five.Albums.Of.2005-1478106.shtml

More of the Top Five Albums of 2005


MY MORNING JACKET
Z

A breakthrough of sorts for this Louisville, Ky. quintet, Z employs melodies and spirit harkening back to early 1990s underground rock. A slow grower, Z opens up in "What a Wonderful Man," a rousing, smart pop song filled with stops, winding chords and singer Jim James' yearning, quite reminiscent of Neil Young. From here, the sound balloons: "Off the Record" makes the listener howl with delight, "Into the Woods" plays like a disturbed merry-go-round, "Lay Low" bridges honky-tonk spirit with a garage-rock melody. It carries much like the Flaming Lips's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but triumphs because of James' lyrics, which are arguably the best writing of the year.

- Tim Malcolm, Muse Staff

[Dee.]

Harp rules.  Here's a scan of the #1 album spot.  :)

[ali]

i like the "giddy, godly, gorgeous Z"... sums it up pretty well for me!  :)

[dragonboy]

Amazon.com has put Z in their "Best of the Decade So Far" list: http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R2GAWKMEF48V1U/103-1440141-1364658