Jim James and M Ward

[Hawkeye]

Ok, so Jim and M Ward really really need to do some type of collaboration.  Has anyone brought this up before?  I mean, does it just make too much sense?  It NEEDS to happen or my brain will explode due to sheer amazement that something so awesome is right under my nose but it's not happening.  What do y'all think?  Just listen to a song like "I will be there when you die" or "Hopefully" or "One in the same" or "I needed it most"...now imagine Jim and M doing a WHOLE ALBUM of that kind of stuff.  Maybe the whole album wouldn't have to be like that, there could be some "rockers" like "Magic Trick" off of Post War, something along those lines.  But seriously it needs to happen.  That album would not leave my rotation for a solid year.  They could throw in Neko or Bright Eyes on a few too.  Or Bobby Bare Jr.  Feel free to throw in suggestions for other collaborations.

[sweatboard]

Jim sings on Magic Trick.  They sound amazing together.

[Hawkeye]

That's what I'm saying!  They need to do a whole album together!

[sweatboard]

They did a tour together with Conner Oberest and there are some live recordings out there of them together, but yeah, I'm all for a full on album as long as they cover "Fade Into Me" on it.

[dragonboy]

If Jim ever spends anytime recording away from the rest of the boys I would prefer a solo album as opposed to a collaboration.
A lo-fi solo acoustic album would be something to treasure!  

[tomEisenbraun]

In all honesty, I love the two, but I would much prefer a Jim solo album produced by M. Ward to a double-feature of the two of them. M. has that touch with recording that gives songs that perfect discrete touch of beauty. I love his voice, too, as much as I love Jim's, but I think an entire double album would be too much of a good thing, if you get my drift. I think the magic behind songs like "Magic Trick," "Fuel for Fire" and "One Life Away" is the surprise of Jim's voice being such a pristine polar opposite to M.'s--and it really is a wonderful surprise that makes me smile when it comes around on the album. Even after a few years of Transistor Radio, Jim's sparse shining moments on that album always coax a grin out of me. But that's the beauty of it, it's two places in a one hour album. It's few and far between. It's a complete treat when it finally gets to it, and you're ready for it by the time the album repeats again (I leave this album on in my car for weeks at a time, literally).

That said, I think a whole album of that kind of a pairing would be almost too much. It would recognize the fact that Jim's voice is magic when paired with M's and I don't want to hear them exploit that. I also think that their writing styles right now are so very dissimilar that it might even sound disjointed or inappropriate to have them all together. There is a very big difference between a friend guest appearing and doing an entire album with them.

However, I think a Jim solo album would be much more suited to an M. Ward treatment, recording-wise. We'd get that M. Ward magic, much of which can be heard with his new work with Zooey Daschanel (www.myspace.com/sheandhim). She's written all these songs, but M. came in and produced the album, fleshed them out, brought in musicians, gave the songs a place to live and grow and breathe and really come into their own, but he also provided a very solid background for them production-wise. If you've listened to enough M. Ward, you can check out the song on their myspace and honestly hear M's influence on the album. That's a beautiful thing. It's not an M. Ward album, and it's not songs that he's written, but he has breathed a strong bit of his musical hand into the crafting of this work. I'd like to see him do something very similar with Jim. Give Jim a sonic backdrop to work with and provide harmonies where they fit and to not feel bound to show up too terribly much on the album, but to come and provide the magic and mystery of his gruff voice where it fit the mood just right. When it's a Jim solo album, they don't feel the need to over-feature on guy or another--M would have the ability to sing wherever the song called for, and call it Jim James produced by M. Ward, rather than Jim & M.

In that way, it would be done in a very similar way to that in which M records. M's music has a life of its own that doesn't necessarily always call for Jim's voice, but when it does, he's there and he helps make something wonderful into something even more magical. That, I think, is good production.

Just my two cents.

[Hawkeye]

We have a winner!  I think you hit the nail on the head there.  That's pretty much what I was envisioning.  Although I like both of their voices and I think they go well together at times, I wouldn't want them both fighting for face time on an album.  M.'s low-fi, old-time (or whatever you want to call it) production would just fit perfectly for a Jim solo album.  Someday.