Months later what's the general concensus amongst the Jacket elite...I've been away from this site far too long and am curious if you all love it, how far out of the box you think they went?
I find the more I play it ...the time listening passes too quickly, I don't skip songs...I wish it had 15 songs
As different as this record is... I listen to it much like I did the others.... I can't pull it out of the player
i don't know if i'm one of the jacket elite but after 3 or 4 months or whatever its been, i'm still listening to z at least once a day (i know this may sound excessive, but i'm on public transport for nearly 2 hours every day, so that gives me a lot of listening time)
i like the progression and development that happens between all the albums. i don' t know if z was a huge departure, as i can see where it comes from in the sound and emotion of the other albums. to me its more of a natural progression and evolution - they haven't left the box, its like they took a look at the box, and decided to make it a bigger, more complex, multi-faceted & cool box. but its still the mmj box at heart. maybe the actual physical "sound" of z is a bit different, but that were a lot of changes between ism & z (new members, new studio, new producer etc etc) and it is just as great & lovely & big & awesome as the others to me
i'm with ya otter on the 15 songs thing - it seems barely has jim's vocals died down on the end of wordless chorus than dondante is starting... maybe its just me going into a sonic-bliss-coma in between!! ;)
I agree, I don't think they pushed it so far that it sounded like a different band or them trying to be something that they aren't. It just sounds like the same band taking a big bold beutiful step in a new direction. I absolutly love the record and I can't wait to see where it goes from here. ;D
heya Otter, glad to have you back! it's been a while... :)
It was great and it still is.
I really like the fact that it's shorter.
I thought It Still Moves could have been a little shorter too.
I agree Ali. I went on a little road trip this weekend and listened to the full lengths from TTF to Z. In my opinion I thought the biggest change was between At Dawn and ISM. I'm sure people will disagree but that's just me. Jim could have started ISM with the MC5 line "Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!!!!!" It seems they really picked up the tempo with ISM.
I think that is just part of the natural evolution they have been going through tho'. As for Z i have not been playing it as much as I did TTF, AD, & ISM (partly because I've been listening to their Bonnaroo 05 set soo much ;)). Oh and welcome back to the fold Senor Otter!
nice to see otter on the board. :) very nice. :)
i put z on when i'm out in the world usually. or in the shower. my morning jacket has always been my showering music.
it's a good way to start the day.
i love it. i love it as much as the first time i listened to it, and i fucking LOVED it the first time i listened to it. i still hear new things.
Quotei still hear new things.
Me too! The production is excellent.
Every time I listen to Z I find a new sound or instrument that I hadn't noticed before.
It's perfect headphone music!
I plan on listening to all four of the studio albums in a row this Sunday during my 12hour flight to Paris. I've never done that before...
so i know this has been dead forawhile, but so have i.
i think its the easiest way to get people hooked, makem listen to Z. my friends have said At Dawn is boring, and i could see why they would make such agrave error. its mellow and slow, but you cant jkust throw it on and blow peoples minds, the setting has to be right, i.e. not at a party with drunks running around. more like AFTER the party, when everyone hungover and looking at the lake, bathing in it at 8 am, thats when you throw on At Dawn. Z, right in the middle of the damn party!!!!
my point is, Z is awesome, and makes easier to spread MMJs gospel
Quoteso i know this has been dead forawhile, but so have i.
i think its the easiest way to get people hooked, makem listen to Z. my friends have said At Dawn is boring, and i could see why they would make such agrave error. its mellow and slow, but you cant jkust throw it on and blow peoples minds, the setting has to be right, i.e. not at a party with drunks running around. more like AFTER the party, when everyone hungover and looking at the lake, bathing in it at 8 am, thats when you throw on At Dawn. Z, right in the middle of the damn party!!!!
my point is, Z is awesome, and makes easier to spread MMJs gospel
Yep, wack on Z to attract the type of fan who finds MMJ's previous albums too complex.
But do we really want MMJ to appeal to that type of fan ???
sometimes it takes a few listens to get it all in
Nearing the end of Dondante, Bo does a cool piano slide thing thats really hard to hear but its there.
Just one of those tiny little things.
About Z
I can not listen to it all. Into the Woods does nothing for me and Off the Record is too restained. I prefer the live versions of OtR I have heard much better. Wordless Chorus is barely passable, as is What a Wonderful Man which I just don't care for. What a Wonderfull Man sounds forced. It's just not them. Too Brit pop circa the Kinks.
Don Dante is a masterpiece, Knot Comes Loose and Oxen flashes from the past. The other 3 Gideon, Anytime, and Lay Low reminds me why they are my favourite band. That being said, my faith is not blind or deaf.
I loved It Still Moves and I didn't want a repeat of it.
I take MMJ's music for what it is. I am happy they are able to be as creative as they want to be.
Hey Billo-have you seen any of Z stuff performed live? You should have been in INDY when they opened with Wordless Chorus! It was one of the most exciting openers I have ever seen. But I do agree, I really do not care for Into The Woods at all. Check them out live, they don't hold back!
Wordless Chorus is amazing both on and off the album. What A Wonderful Man is better heard live, actually great live.
QuoteHey Billo-have you seen any of Z stuff performed live? You should have been in INDY when they opened with Wordless Chorus! It was one of the most exciting openers I have ever seen. But I do agree, I really do not care for Into The Woods at all. Check them out live, they don't hold back!
Spot on with
Wordless Chorus, they opened with that a lot. I remember the hair standing up on the back of my neck and I couldn't help but start yelling out "HooooH"s way before their time!
Give
Into The Woods a little time. Try it again, and instead of being distracted by the carnival music, concentrate on the vocals. Soak it all in.
It was the lyrics to 'Into the Woods' that finally won me over.
OK Bermuda-I'll take your advice and give "Woods" a couple of more listens. (((((((Z))))))) Thanx, TEO
Also, for Into the Woods, try and get your hands on the Easy Street Records that Jim did solo. I was intrigued the first time I heard it and just continue to like it more and more. But, when you hear Jim doing all of the Ahhhhhh, ahhhh, ahhh, ahhhhhh at the end of the song with just an acoustic guitar it is guaranteed to give you a newfound respect for the song. GUARANTEED.
I think I got it from bt.etree.org. It was somewhere on this forum a few weeks ago.
Maybe I can't get beyond the baby in a blender line.
Thanks Teo for the live listening advice for Wordless. I can and do learn much from this forum.
Billo-No problem my new found friend! I have seen them 3 times, (senior members I realize that aint much) and they are absolutely awesome! My next set will be at Bonnaroo and I am already getting totally psyched and that is not until June. Later,
(((((((TEO)))))))
QuoteAlso, for Into the Woods, try and get your hands on the Easy Street Records that Jim did solo. I was intrigued the first time I heard it and just continue to like it more and more. But, when you hear Jim doing all of the Ahhhhhh, ahhhh, ahhh, ahhhhhh at the end of the song with just an acoustic guitar it is guaranteed to give you a newfound respect for the song. GUARANTEED.
I think I got it from bt.etree.org. It was somewhere on this forum a few weeks ago.
Good call, I think that version showed me the song in a new light as well.
Thanks for the input everyone.
I'd say after listening to Z for a while now that it is indeed solid. There isn't a song on it that is weak...Jim's writing is very clever, not that it wasn't before. There are quite a few lines throughout that have already become favorites of all time any band.
Bo and Carl have each found their way into the mix..I think Bo is heard more than Danny ever was, and is featured quite a bit on Z (I think). Carl picked his spots a little more, and I expect him to be more in front on their next album. It can't be an easy transition into an existing band, making it sound like it always has while putting one's own twist.
I'll be honest, I was such a huge fan of the way Johnny and Jim's guitars played together...their core sound, I wasn't sure when the lineup switched if I would ever like this band as much as before. I am glad to say I have survived that termoil, and so has the band and all of you.
Z is just what I needed to see, well hear to make me smile with this band again.
"Pleasure up and down my smile"
They never seem to stop the amazement factor with/for me.
Ahhhhhh ZZZZ.
Speaking of, last night I was watching the Austin City Limits version of Dondante for the 37th time, this week, I noticed something new. It's actually pretty obvious, but this was the first time I really "noticed" it. Watch at the very beginning while he's singing the line AND ALL THAT EVER MATTERED WILL SOME DAY TURN BACK TO BATTER LIKE A JOKE. You just have to watch. Enough said.
Does this man play with any emotion?
...actually, I've been only recently turned on to MMJ through a local independent radio station in Sharon, CT (yes a few still exist)...I caught the Austin City LImits show a bit by accident this past weekend and now I can say I am officially "hooked" --can a more eperienced fan tell me the short song list from MMJ's Austin City Limits show? Thanks. TC Morton
Golden
Gideon
What a Wonderful Man
DonDante
Anytime
The first track is from It Still Moves!, all of the others are from their newest album, Z.