The Last Letter in the Alphabet

I can’t remember when I first heard My Morning Jacket even though it was very recent.  I can’t recall if I had heard “Off the Record” or “I’m Amazed”, but I’m pretty sure it was “I’m Amazed” that finally provoked me to listen to one of their records.  The band hails from Kentucky and is fronted by Jim James, the principal singer/songwriter and guitarist.  Other members include “Two Tone” Tommy on bass guitars, Patrick Hallahan on drums, Bo Koster on keyboards, and Carl Broemel on guitars and steel guitars.

The band is known mostly for their extensive live shows, which have gone as long as four hours (see their 2008 set at Bonnaroo) and feature a number of original and cover songs. Commercial success with their records has slowly grown since their first major label release, It Still Moves.  In thinking about it, I believe the first song I remember hearing from them was “I’m Amazed”, and little did I know how different their sound was from that single’s record (Evil Urges) compared to their earlier material.  From articles I have read, fans have been torn between the material on albums such as It Still Moves and Z compared to Evil Urges and perhaps their new record Circuital.

Most of their records have received favorable reviews (Evil Urges apparently divided critics, too), but their most well-received record was Z.  Produced by James and John Leckie, Z was the record that propelled the band to more commercial fame while also receiving a lot of critical praise.  Z is the topic of this post.

#27 – My Morning Jacket, Z (Metascore = 90)

“Wordless Chorus” is entitled just as it is—there are no words in the chorus other than “aah’s” and “ooo’s”.  The song also has a soul vibe to it, somewhat contrary to the country rock sound they had on older records.  They pull this sound off really well, too; I forgot how much I liked this song when I first heard it.  While I’m thinking about it, My Morning Jacket is another band that uses a lot of harmonies in their songs, similarly to Fleet Foxes.  Their use is not as prominent as in Fleet Foxes’ records, but they do use harmonies effectively.

Reading through the lyrics while I’m listening, James writes around different topics:  love & relationships, religion, and death.  “What a Wonderful Man” reads like a tribute to someone he knew, and according to an interview with James, he stated that the song was for a friend who had committed suicide.  Mostly, though, the songs seem to revolve around love and relationships.  “Off the Record”, “It Beats 4 U” , and “Anytime” are all examples of the singer trying to reach out to the girl at some point in the relationship, whether it’s at the beginning (“Off the Record”) or at the end (“Anytime”).

The music here is the more notable characteristic.  Songs follow the soul format started with “Wordless Chorus” early on, then become rock (“Off the Record”), kitschy (“Into the Woods”), and back to rock again.  Other than “Into the Woods”, which I didn’t really like, all of the songs are well structured and performed very well, keeping the listener involved throughout.  “Lay Low” brings the band back to the sound most prominent in It Still Moves, though with a punch that makes the band sound more and more confident as the record progresses.  Some of the best songs on the record are at the end, though this record is so full of great songs it’s hard to narrow that to one area.  “Dondante” sounds like their version of the Led Zeppelin classic “Since I’ve Been Loving You”.

On this listen I really enjoyed Z.  Every song with the exception of “Into the Woods” is great to listen to.  Even “Into the Woods” would appeal to some people.  The Metascore appears very accurate for this record.