The My Morning Jacket Top 25

[The DARK]

Post your top 25 MMJ songs IN ORDER here. Each song will receive points according to its position (#1 gets 25 points, #25 gets 1 point). When we are finished posting, we will add up the points and discover the forum's favorite MMJ songs!

2 rules for choosing songs:

1. For clarity's sake, NO LIVE SONGS. I know, there are so many good live songs, but we don't want any repeats on this thread.

2. Early recordings and covers are allowed as long as an official studio version or demo exists.


I'll get this ball rolling:

1. Dondante
2. Steam Engine
3. Strangulation
4. At Dawn
5. One Big Holiday
6. Dancefloors
7. Honest Man
8. Mahgeetah
9. It's About Twilight Now
10. Wordless Chorus
11. Lay Low
12. I Will Be There When You Die
13. Off The Record
14. Phone Went West
15. The Way That He Sings
16. Cobra
17. Gideon
18. Run Thru
19. The Bear
20. Anytime
21. If All Else Fails
22. Golden
23. Lowdown
24. Xmas Curtain
25. The Dark

Show me what you've got!  :)

[The DARK]

I'll assume everybody is busy making their lists.   :)

[DaFunkyPrecedent]

ill get on it - maybe we should make it a top 10 though.  25 is too high for me to count.   really though - ill just get lost come the end and make irrational decessions that i will later regret.

[The Big Come Up]

As of today

1. Steam Engine
2. Off The Record
3. Lay Low
4. One Big Holiday
5. Just Because I Do
6. The Way That He Sings
7. Phone Went West
8. Xmas Curtain
9. I Wont Cry!
10. I Will Be There When You Die
11. Just One Thing
12. Anytime
13. Old September Blues
14. Easy Morning Rebel
15. I Will Sing You Songs
16. Lowdown
17. Heartbreakin Man
18. O is the One that is Real
19. The Bear
20. By My Car
21. Sweetheart
22. Dondante
23. Sooner
24. Run Thru
25. Wordless Chorus

Sounds about right

[The DARK]

Where u been, Big Come Up?  :)

[Fee71]

ill get on it - maybe we should make it a top 10 though.  25 is too high for me to count.   really though - ill just get lost come the end and make irrational decessions that i will later regret.

Yeah I second the top 10 idea, I would get way to lost. Obviously this list would differ if we were using live versions, probally the whole back 5 of my list. ie... THE WAY HE SINGS WHICH IS IN MY TOP 3 FAVORITE LIVE SONGS,AND SONGS LIKE SOONER, PHONE WENT WEST ARE JUST TWO GOOD LIVE TO CAPUTRE ON CD. Offical studio list here it is,

1- WAR BEGUN
2- STRANGULATION
3-LOWDOWN
4- JUST ONE THING
5-STEAME ENGINE
6- MAHGEETAH
7-GIDEON
8- ONE BIG HOLIDAY
9- MASTERPLAN
10- I NEED IT MOST

[The Big Come Up]

Where u been, Big Come Up?  :)

Been busy, glad to be back. Summer=More Posts

[DaFunkyPrecedent]

My Top 10 - For May 27.  Tomorrow it will most likely be different...it was kinda hard being like "which do I think is better,  Low Down or They Ran?"

1. Cobra ;D
2. Golden 8-)
3. Strangulation :'(
4. Into The Woods :o
5. Mahgetta :)
6. Wordless Chorus :-X
7. It Makes No Difference :-*
8. Low Down ;)
9. They Ran - Heart B. Man EP :D
10.The Bear ::)

[JxD1903]

eeeeesh, this is hard haha.

I'll be back with mine !

[Willard1979]

This is difficult, as it would change on a daily basis!  I'm surprised that no one put It Beats 4 U on there? I know that would be a regular on my list!   8-)

[mjkoehler]

A'ight here's my attempt. The top 5 are solid, the rest will change order everyday depending on my mode.

1 Steam Engine
2 Mahgeeta
3 OBH
4 Phone Went West
5 At Dawn
6 Pictures Of You
7 Lowdown
8 I will Sing You Songs
9 Gideon
10 Run Thru
11 Lay Low
12 Dondante
13 I will Be There when You Die
14 I Think I'm Going To Hell
15 Death Is The Easy Way
16 It's About Twilight Now
17 War Begun
18 Dancefloors
19 Golden
20 It Beats 4 U
21 Anytime
22 Xmas Curtain
23 Heartbreakin Man
24 By My Car
25 Bermuda Highway

[InTheZone]

like people have been saying, a list like this changes daily, but here's what i got right now...

1 i think i'm going to hell
2 can you see the hard helmet on my head
3 bermuda highway
4 steam engine
5 gideon
6 one big holiday
7 wordless chorus
8 golden
9 just one thing
10 ev-o-lyn
11 come closer
12 phone went west
13 strangulation
14 war begun
15 at dawn
16 if it smashes down
17 knot comes loose
18 sweetheart
19 it beats 4 you
20 way that he sings
21 xmas curtain
22 dancefloors
23 rollin back
24 i will sing you songs
25 how do you know

[ziggypayne]

Here's what I got from the top of my head:

One Big Holiday
O Is The One That Is Real
Off The Record
Cobra
Phone Went West
Run Thru
It Makes No Difference
Dondante
Gideon
The Way That He Sings
Lay Low
Mahgeetah
It's About Twilight Now
Anytime
Lowdown
At Dawn
I Will Sing You Songs
It Beats 4 U

[Sleazy Rider]

steam engine
run thru
dondante
lowdown
one big holiday
i needed it most
phone went west
just because i do
masterplan
bermuda highway
i will be there when you die
butch cassidy
just one thing
tonite i want to celebrate with you
it beats 4 u
tyrone
sweetheart
new morning
behind that locked door
easy mornin' rebel
o is the one that is real
the bear
the dark
wordless chorus
come closer

[saki]

off the top o me head...

1.  Lowdown
2.  I will Sing You Songs
3.  Old Sept. Blues (live gaaed out version)
4.  Steam Engine
5.  Mahgeetah
6.  Sweetheart
7.  Heartbrakin Man
8.  Anytime
9.  Golden
10.  If It Smashes Down
11.  If All Else Fails
12.  The Bear
13.  Wordless
14.  X-mas Curtain
15.  They Ran
16.  At Dawn
17.  I just wanted to say
18.  The Way That He Sings
19.  One Big Holiday
20.  Cobra
21.  Sooner
22.  I think I'm going to hell
23.  Picture of you
24.  Where to begin
25.   War Begun

phewwww!!    :P

[George_Savage]

I'll assume everybody is busy making their lists.   :)

Damn, I need a new computer!   I just typed out a long message and my browser schitzed out on me.   Anyway, I am going to try to rate all of the MMJ catalog (sans live/covers, etc) unless they are put out on a studio album.   I am guessing that you allow for stuff like this [ch8211] Dream a little dream of me, etc, since they[ch8217]re not written by Jim but covered on an official disc.   Also, I am missing some EP[ch8217]s (lost in my messy, wrecked abode), but I figure that I[ch8217]d remember the outstanding songs that I can[ch8217]t locate.  I can[ch8217]t recall how that song about Josta and Bitter Hands goes, or even what it[ch8217]s really called!   Anyway, using the website, I should be able to find most of the songs that are available for rating.    I haven[ch8217]t heard the album version of It Makes No Difference or Where to Begin.  I have heard [ch8216]em, though, and I doubt if they[ch8217]ll make my top 25.  Other then these and the songs located on the website, what am I missing?  When does this thing end, too?  I hope to get it done today, but rating these GREAT songs it[ch8217]s going to be easy!  

Low Dog

[George_Savage]

I'll assume everybody is busy making their lists.   :)

     Well, this turned into a long afternoon of scratching out, crossing out, weighing the options, re-remembering greatness, and it[ch8217]s easily one of the hardest ratings I[ch8217]ve done.  It[ch8217]s hard for me to believe that I[ch8217]ve never rated MMJ.  I[ch8217]ve rated some of my old favorites, including The Beatles, The Doors, Neil Young, and R. E. M.   I first rated The Beatles in [ch8217]80, when a lot of you were just gleams in your parents[ch8217] eyes!   Yes, I[ch8217]m an old fogey!  
        This isn[ch8217]t really a true rating because I didn[ch8217]t rate everything of MMJ[ch8217]s.  But I am confident that my top 25 are in order.   What I mean is that I failed to rate all of the songs on demos discs (Sandman Cometh and the other one) and I can[ch8217]t remember all of those songs, truth be known.   Here is my top 75, though.  I[ch8217]ll try to be brief because I have to mow my lawn and it[ch8217]s already 7:22 PM.   This is also a bit of a BS rating because I included some covers (New Morning) on my list but I left others off (Rocket Man) [ch8211] oh well, the top 25 is really what counts, right?!

75 RIPVG
74 Magic Man (had never heard this before these latest demos)
73 Lead Me Father (I think it[ch8217]s an old spiritual, but it may be Jim[ch8217]s?)
72 Tonite I want to Celebrate with You
71 New Morning
70 Santa Claus is Back in Town (a couple of those Xmas songs rated high!)
69 Holy
68 Tyrone (I prefer the solo Jim from live shows to the record)
67 Take my Breath Away (love the way he sings it really high one verse)
66 Strangulation
65 Come Closer (love the Christmas take-off on it)
64 Dream a little Dream of Me (perfect song for Jim[ch8217]s voice)
63 Isobella w/the White Umbrella (requested it from my car when we saw Jim outside the Tennessee Theatre, only time I[ch8217]ve ever heard it live, 5/1/02, Knoxville)
62 Masterplan
61 Anytime
60 I think I[ch8217]m going to Hell (liked it live a lot in [ch8217]05)
59 Hopefully
58 From Nashville to Kentucky
57 If all Else Fails (one of two or three I never heard live)
56 Butch Cassidy (ditto for this one, never heard it live)
55 How Do You Know (first heard 3/24/02 after live show in the record/skateboard
shop, the store owner gave me a promo, felt it was a new direction for MMJ)
54 I will sing you Songs
53 Sweetheart (was surprised to hear it in Dallas last November)
52 Dondante (don[ch8217]t love it as much as a lot of you, it[ch8217]s still a classic)
51 I will be there when you Die
50 Just Because I Do (love to sing it loud in the car)
49 Evelyn is not Real (loved the live [ch8216]shout-outs[ch8217] to JQ during this, [ch8217]02)
48 Rollin Back (MMJ, we[ch8217]re [ch8220]wrapped up in your mystery[ch8221])
47 I Need it Most (I need this one most, a live version from Dallas [ch8217]06 for my [ch8216]At Dawn[ch8217] live project, holler if you can help!!!)
46 The Dark (Brent of Slobberbone sang [ch8220]trapped in gasoline[ch8221] at the end of their set, May [ch8217]02 in Dallas[ch8212]also the first song I ever heard by MMJ, live or otherwise, Oct [ch8217]01)
45 Sooner (Jim sang some of LaBamba during Sooner, June [ch8217]03, Austin)
44 What a Wonderful Man (we[ch8217]ve popped the tape in the dash of ours cars a thousand times)
43 Picture of You (a total jam-out live in the old days, Slobberbone sang part of it, too)
42 Run Thru (big crowd fave for the kids, [ch8217]04 and [ch8217]05)
41 If it Smashes Down (another one I never heard live, but I my own version recorded [ch8216]live[ch8217] in my living room that I am going to use for the At Dawn live project [ch8211] his voice at the end is just unbelievable)
40 It Beats for You (still think about spaghetti westerns music at end of this one)
39 Honest Man (a monster live, Jim[ch8217]s voice/guitars squealing make the studio version)
38 I just wanted to Say (I hope they make another Christmas record eventually)
37 Easy Mornin Rebel
36 They Ran (very glad that they pulled it out last fall, had previously only heard Jim do it solo, Houston, 7/16/02)
35 One Big Holiday (always loved it, loved their Conan debut)
34 Old Sept Blues (quoted this at my dad[ch8217]s funeral)
33 It[ch8217]s about Twilight Now (blistering live in [ch8217]01 and [ch8217]02)
32 Knot Comes Loose (have said that the middle part with ooh-ing and ah-ing and Bo[ch8217]s piano is the most gorgeous 40 seconds of music ever)
31 Where to Begin (this is still climbing up the list, it[ch8217]s a beautiful song, heard it live in Knoxville 10/7/05)
30 Christmas Time is Here Again (bring out the joy, light up the tree!)
29 Phone Went West (early crowd favorite, and it still rocks live)
28 War Begun (great lyrics, great rocker live in the early days)
27 Off the Record (infectious, fun to sing)
26 Heartbreakin Man (first studio song I ever heard, 10/26/01, masterpiece)
25 Just One Thing (fun to sing loud as well)
24 At Dawn
23 O is the One that is Real (again, I felt it was a change when this came out, but probably just because that EP didn[ch8217]t sound like At Dawn or TTF)
22 Weeks go by like Days (begged for this live, never got it, really love the excellent version from Holland, April 2000, I think, Leewarden?)
21 Into the Woods (love the way it builds up and the men[ch8217]s choir effect)
20 Wordless Chorus (another really fun one to sing, Jim[ch8217]s on fire here!)
19 Lil Billy (early rocker, the middle part is probably why they got compared to Southern rock so much early on [ch8211] it reminds me of the Allmans, at least, great screaming by Jim)
18 One in the Same (gorgeous, and great lyrics, loved in live in Ft Worth, 10/8/04)
17 Bermuda Highway (great lyrics, singing, gorgeous yet again)
16 Can you see the Hard Helmet on my Head (still blown away that this is all Jim, have always loved it, even when I knew only about half of the lyrics!)
15 Gideon (his singing/screaming here is legendary, and the band just Rocks!)
14 Lay Low (always loved the dual guitars, it[ch8217]s a rocker live, obviously)
13 Death is the Easy Way (will use the 10/8/04 Ft Worth version he sang with Will)
12 Chills (loved it on the demos, blown away by the recorded verision)

11 Dance Floors (loved it live, loved the horns, love the rock at the end)
10 Cobra (it[ch8217]s really seven songs, a masterpiece for the ages)
9 Lowdown (loved it early, it[ch8217]s another one to sing loud that[ch8217]s fun)
8 Golden (great lyrics, great singing)
7 Mahgeetah (crowd favorite, have always loved it, rocks!)
6 By my Car (just beautiful)
5 The way the He Sings (great lyrics, tune, love the rock at the end, especially live in [ch8217]02)
4 Steam Engine (first heard it solo Jim, 1/23/02, legendary masterpiece)
3 Xmas Curtain (I get hassled by friends for loving this so much, the lyrics are phenomenal but mysterious, love the music and his singing)
2 How Could I Know (Oxen) (they opened the 9/17/04 Dallas show with it, and it[ch8217]s been near the top ever since, love the singing, playing, drumming, everything)
1 The Bear (knew this was #1 before I began rating, it[ch8217]ll be played at my funeral! Jim did an Elvis impression during this, singing-wise, the first time I heard it, 10/25/01)

Thanks for reading if you made it through, now I gotta mow.

[The DARK]

Great list LD, though a bit surprised that Strangulation wasn't higher...

[George_Savage]

Great list LD, though a bit surprised that Strangulation wasn't higher...

Yeh, I think I was around 68 or 67 when I realized how hard this was going to be.  I like Strangulation (not the actual act, of course!), but it's never been a big fave of mine.   The quality of most of their songs is so high that's it's a challenge when you get down to the top 25.   And of course, as so many have said, it'll change with time.  I listened to all of Chocolate and Ice EP this morning.   I love the way that Jim kinda laughs as he sings 'that bitch is holy' or whatever he says there.   Cobra is playing in my head now; I can't get it out of my head but that's okay.  Back to work.

Low Dog

[mjkoehler]

The quality of most of their songs is so high that's it's a challenge when you get down to the top 25.

Amen to that...