What is missing from Evil Urges?

[Ghosts_on_TV]

   I am sorry to keep beating this dead horse..this will be my final post on this topic. I am sorry to have caused such a whirlwind.  I am sometimes over opinionated (and a proud music snob)  One thing that many, so many of you missed, is that I first heard most many of  the new songs on the St.Davids recordings.  I was blown away by all of them.  I was only disappointed when I heard the cleaned up, slicked produced versions of those songs.  If I had never heard the acoustic performances (in my opinion, better, more heart felt  versions of those songs) I would have probably not had anything negative to say about most of the new album.   I try to be honest with myself, first as a musician and a music fan, and I will always call it like I see it, especially if something important to me fails to live up to my expectations.
  I listen to Evil Urges at least once a day, and have every day since I got it.  (about 3 weeks now), I forced my little sister to listen to Highly Suspicious in the car yesterday and she made a very uncomfortable face!
   I fell asleep to the Okonokos DVD version of "Dondante" and it blew my subconscious mind last night.   I must confess to having recieved a burned copy of EU  from my cousin, so I didn't technically steal it! I was the kid who snooped through my parents house and found all my presents two weeks before Christmas.  I simply do not have the will power to resist hearing the new material from one of my all time favorite bands.  Like I said before, I have still preordered the real disc, and will continue to buy anything else MMJ puts out as long as it isn't total crap.  
 Tracey, I am sorry about the harsh comments, no hard feelings here.    Goat Boy, I dig your style and Papa Joe seems to be the most rational person on this forum by far.  
 I understand that music is a deeply personal, sometimes religious thing to many people.  I was not trying to force my views on anyone, just wanting to express my own feelings.   I wasn't trying to start any shit with anyone,  I am not the guy who pushes to the front of the line and I speak very quietly and reservedly with people in public.  I don't even drink at shows ever because I don't want to miss the music.
 This band doesn't belong to anyone.  It belongs to everyone that loves and appreciates what they do, for whatever reason that person may have.    SNL is not going ruin MMJ and neither is a message board online.  
 How many posts does one have to make to no longer be a "newbie"?  Actually, that middle school bully bullshit name calling needs to come to an end if anyone is ever supposed to take any of this seriously.
 Thanks!

Being a "Newbie" was never a problem around here until about 3 weeks ago.

[songdiver]

The Jacket have raised the bar so high that I don't think most people can see it right now.  I will defend At Dawn's reverb and the 5 million layers of Jim's voice in the background till the day I die and after that, but I will also defend that even though the thick vocal reverb and over dubbing are lacking on this album, it is replaced with thick layers of blazing instrumental sounds that make up for it, and come on, Jim's voice is still just as big sounding, he just plays with it a bit more.  The people who are in shock right now will eventually come back to this album and see what is going on, and they will realize that the shock is actually just an awakening.

[bonnaroospaceman]

I guess I could've been more concise in my response to the initial question: What is missing from Evil Urges?
My concise answer is this: Absolutely nothing. In fact, I'm convinced that everything that makes music meaningful, beautiful and important is contained somewhere in this album.

Here is a track by track review from a newbie (to this forum). I've seen these guys around 7 or 8 times including 3 bonnaroo performances: 2004 (the 'return to thunderdome' set), 2005 (the crazy puppet show) & 2006 (epic late night madness).

Evil Urges:
-Track #1 is an incredibly well composed song that seems to combine a whole slew of genres. It's got a futuristic sound (background noises in particular) but still seems like a song whose simplicity is incredibly compelling. I'm not sure there is another song by any artist I've ever heard that is similar to this track. The lyrics are meaningful and touch on a sense of spirituality that resonantes strongly with me. The breakdown in the song is absolutely epic and when they played it live on SNL, James shook the guitar at the end of the solo and it made me think of how tremendous their show is going to be at Bonnaroo this year.

Touch Me I'm Going to Scream:
-Track #2 is addictive. This song makes me think about the girl I love every time I hear it. The bassline is killer. The intensity of the tune and the lyrics are fascinating to me. Many musicians have tried to convey the feeling between two lovers when they are in an intimate setting. This songs conveys that feeling in a way that is original and innovative.

Highly Suspicious:
-Track #3 is ambitious and exciting. I love the risk they took with this and I love the Prince-esque sound. I can't wait to see this live.

I'm Amazed:
-Every line of lyrics in this song is meaningful. This song is incredibly inspiring. It's hard for me to listen to this song and not think about the lack of perspective in the modern world. I think that the following quote will inspire me for my whole life: "I'm amazed at the quiet ocean." I have that feeling every day of my life and I've never heard it phrased as succintly and as precisely as when I heard the first line of this song, the first time I listened to it.

Thank You Too:
-Maybe I'm an emotional dude, but I almost can't listen to this song at work because it makes me well up with tears a bit. I thought Steam Engine was heartbreaking but this one contains such raw and beautiful emotion, and has such an incredibly touching melody (and such a strong breakdown/guitar solo). The strains and shakiness in Jim's voice in this song strike a cord with me. I read the article in Spin about these guys and before I had even read that article I was thinking that this is the song I want to be my first dance with my wife at my wedding. Steam Engine was the song that I had originally lined up for that honor, but this track is what I will be listening to when I dance with my wife for the first time as her husband at our wedding.

Sec Walkin'
-This is going to be an incredible road trip song one day. I can't wait to hear this one on a long stretch of highway (any highway will do, this is not exclusive to bermuda). I know this might not make sense because the song is about walking, but I get the sense that this song is about travelling and the experiences that occur when you are moving thru the world and get that feeling that you are seeing things for the first time, even if the setting is a familiar one.

Two Halves:
-Man I love oldies and this song is probably the best oldies track I've ever heard. It takes all my favorite components of old songs that stand the test of time. From the back up vocals to the tune and the lyrics, this song sounded like a classic the very first time I ever heard it. I've never had a song make that impression on me. Every song on this album has compelling lyrics. This song is the epitome of why this band is great. When I saw MMJ play with the Boston Pops, when the conductor introduced the band he said he chose them because they can't be contained to a single genre. This song is the perfectly example.

Librarian:
-Vivid storytelling is very rare in the new music that I hear. This track paints such a vivid picture; complete with incredible characters, emotions and settings. This might sound strange but when I hear this song I don't just hear the music, I see the whole scene unfolding in my mind. It reminds me a bit of why I love the news on NPR. When you see the news on tv or read it online, it is very passive. You just watch the images and see/hear the words, but when you listen to news stories from NPR on the radio, you paint a picture of the whole scene in your mind, and because you are creating that scene in your mind, and filling in the little details with your own imagination, you feel more connected to the story and the plight of the characters.

Look at You:
-Another heartbreaker. Man, these guys really know how to convey a powerfully sad state of mind in a song. But this isn't just a sad song, it's that typical type of MMJ song that is so incredibly happy that it makes you sad. Or is so incredibly sad that you start to realize the importance of the things that make you happy. I don't mean that this song is typical, I just mean that this band, more than any other I can think of, writes these incredibly sad songs that have a joyfully beautiful context.

Aluminum Park:
-Maybe I'm missing the mark on the message of this song, but the way I hear it, I think it is a commentary on globalization and industrialization. It's a rocking track that comes precisely at the right moment in the album. Just when you're thinking about the sad feeling of happiness from the previous tracks, this one picks you up, makes you straighten your back up and stop feeling sorry for yourself and start to think about how you can get your shit together and do something positive with your life.

Remnants
-Again, maybe I'm transposing my own viewpoints onto this track but it sounds to me like such an amazing commentary on the USA and what is both great and terrible about it. This whole album strikes me as a having a dichotomous theme that runs through it: evil urges that are really natural, normal and healthy; amazing romantic love that is also maddening and excrutiatingly enjoyable; sadness that is really beautiful; a geeky librarian who is incredibly sexy; a walk down the street that echoes the feeling of travelling around the world. I guess what I'm saying is that this song kicks ass and I can't wait to see this live.

Smokin' From Shootin:
-Another track that defies genres and is incredibly philosophical. "What is life and g-d? a perfect vision of the self?" This song, to me, embraces community and I think this will be the theme song to a massive community of my morning jacket fans that will explode in the wake of this album. To me, this track is the tale of an individual searching for a place in the world, almost not realizing that his home is right front of his eyes, wherever he might be. When the electric guitar and the bass drum come pouring down about 4 minutes into the track, the hair on the back of my neck starts to stand up and I start to think that this music speaks to me in a way that no other band has ever done. The transition to the next song is also incredibly crafted.

Touch Me I'm Going To Scream pt II:
-This song is a masterpiece. It typifies why I think this album is my favorite album of all time. It draws you in and takes you. It tells a simple story of a spark between two people that is powerful enough to echo through anyone who has ever been in love with someone or something. Every time I hear this track I picture what this concert at Bonnaroo is going to be like this year.

[getinthevan]

An official release!  Oh!



I didn't actually read any of the last 5 pages of replies.  Looked like too much reading and I figured it was probably just about the same stuff everyone has been arguing about since the leak.

[Jon T.]

I guess I could've been more concise in my response to the initial question: What is missing from Evil Urges?
My concise answer is this: Absolutely nothing. In fact, I'm convinced that everything that makes music meaningful, beautiful and important is contained somewhere in this album.

Here is a track by track review from a newbie (to this forum). I've seen these guys around 7 or 8 times including 3 bonnaroo performances: 2004 (the 'return to thunderdome' set), 2005 (the crazy puppet show) & 2006 (epic late night madness).

Evil Urges:
-Track #1 is an incredibly well composed song that seems to combine a whole slew of genres. It's got a futuristic sound (background noises in particular) but still seems like a song whose simplicity is incredibly compelling. I'm not sure there is another song by any artist I've ever heard that is similar to this track. The lyrics are meaningful and touch on a sense of spirituality that resonantes strongly with me. The breakdown in the song is absolutely epic and when they played it live on SNL, James shook the guitar at the end of the solo and it made me think of how tremendous their show is going to be at Bonnaroo this year.

Touch Me I'm Going to Scream:
-Track #2 is addictive. This song makes me think about the girl I love every time I hear it. The bassline is killer. The intensity of the tune and the lyrics are fascinating to me. Many musicians have tried to convey the feeling between two lovers when they are in an intimate setting. This songs conveys that feeling in a way that is original and innovative.

Highly Suspicious:
-Track #3 is ambitious and exciting. I love the risk they took with this and I love the Prince-esque sound. I can't wait to see this live.

I'm Amazed:
-Every line of lyrics in this song is meaningful. This song is incredibly inspiring. It's hard for me to listen to this song and not think about the lack of perspective in the modern world. I think that the following quote will inspire me for my whole life: "I'm amazed at the quiet ocean." I have that feeling every day of my life and I've never heard it phrased as succintly and as precisely as when I heard the first line of this song, the first time I listened to it.

Thank You Too:
-Maybe I'm an emotional dude, but I almost can't listen to this song at work because it makes me well up with tears a bit. I thought Steam Engine was heartbreaking but this one contains such raw and beautiful emotion, and has such an incredibly touching melody (and such a strong breakdown/guitar solo). The strains and shakiness in Jim's voice in this song strike a cord with me. I read the article in Spin about these guys and before I had even read that article I was thinking that this is the song I want to be my first dance with my wife at my wedding. Steam Engine was the song that I had originally lined up for that honor, but this track is what I will be listening to when I dance with my wife for the first time as her husband at our wedding.

Sec Walkin'
-This is going to be an incredible road trip song one day. I can't wait to hear this one on a long stretch of highway (any highway will do, this is not exclusive to bermuda). I know this might not make sense because the song is about walking, but I get the sense that this song is about travelling and the experiences that occur when you are moving thru the world and get that feeling that you are seeing things for the first time, even if the setting is a familiar one.

Two Halves:
-Man I love oldies and this song is probably the best oldies track I've ever heard. It takes all my favorite components of old songs that stand the test of time. From the back up vocals to the tune and the lyrics, this song sounded like a classic the very first time I ever heard it. I've never had a song make that impression on me. Every song on this album has compelling lyrics. This song is the epitome of why this band is great. When I saw MMJ play with the Boston Pops, when the conductor introduced the band he said he chose them because they can't be contained to a single genre. This song is the perfectly example.

Librarian:
-Vivid storytelling is very rare in the new music that I hear. This track paints such a vivid picture; complete with incredible characters, emotions and settings. This might sound strange but when I hear this song I don't just hear the music, I see the whole scene unfolding in my mind. It reminds me a bit of why I love the news on NPR. When you see the news on tv or read it online, it is very passive. You just watch the images and see/hear the words, but when you listen to news stories from NPR on the radio, you paint a picture of the whole scene in your mind, and because you are creating that scene in your mind, and filling in the little details with your own imagination, you feel more connected to the story and the plight of the characters.

Look at You:
-Another heartbreaker. Man, these guys really know how to convey a powerfully sad state of mind in a song. But this isn't just a sad song, it's that typical type of MMJ song that is so incredibly happy that it makes you sad. Or is so incredibly sad that you start to realize the importance of the things that make you happy. I don't mean that this song is typical, I just mean that this band, more than any other I can think of, writes these incredibly sad songs that have a joyfully beautiful context.

Aluminum Park:
-Maybe I'm missing the mark on the message of this song, but the way I hear it, I think it is a commentary on globalization and industrialization. It's a rocking track that comes precisely at the right moment in the album. Just when you're thinking about the sad feeling of happiness from the previous tracks, this one picks you up, makes you straighten your back up and stop feeling sorry for yourself and start to think about how you can get your shit together and do something positive with your life.

Remnants
-Again, maybe I'm transposing my own viewpoints onto this track but it sounds to me like such an amazing commentary on the USA and what is both great and terrible about it. This whole album strikes me as a having a dichotomous theme that runs through it: evil urges that are really natural, normal and healthy; amazing romantic love that is also maddening and excrutiatingly enjoyable; sadness that is really beautiful; a geeky librarian who is incredibly sexy; a walk down the street that echoes the feeling of travelling around the world. I guess what I'm saying is that this song kicks ass and I can't wait to see this live.

Smokin' From Shootin:
-Another track that defies genres and is incredibly philosophical. "What is life and g-d? a perfect vision of the self?" This song, to me, embraces community and I think this will be the theme song to a massive community of my morning jacket fans that will explode in the wake of this album. To me, this track is the tale of an individual searching for a place in the world, almost not realizing that his home is right front of his eyes, wherever he might be. When the electric guitar and the bass drum come pouring down about 4 minutes into the track, the hair on the back of my neck starts to stand up and I start to think that this music speaks to me in a way that no other band has ever done. The transition to the next song is also incredibly crafted.

Touch Me I'm Going To Scream pt II:
-This song is a masterpiece. It typifies why I think this album is my favorite album of all time. It draws you in and takes you. It tells a simple story of a spark between two people that is powerful enough to echo through anyone who has ever been in love with someone or something. Every time I hear this track I picture what this concert at Bonnaroo is going to be like this year.

Hey Jim, how's it going?   ;D

Nice review.  I do think this is their strongest album from start to finish.

[bluntmaster]

my greedy ass still wants to hear the 7 that didn't fit.