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Avg: 4.5 (286 ratings)
- Date Released: October 4, 2005
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: ATO Records
MMJ expands, both sonically and texturally.
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We Say...
A fecund, spacious haze seems to follow My Morning Jacket everywhere (and I don’t mean that peculiar Bonnaroo smog either). Ever since their debut, the band has been deploying spring-reverb for all facets of their sound, from Jim James’ yelp to the peculiar corners the band so skillfully carpenters. So while the echo is always evident on Z, with the help of new keyboardist Bo Koster My Morning Jacket now emphasize the “spring” of said equation, with their sprightliest, most pliant set of studio songs to date. Skankable skips and R&B shuffles cast bright lights across their grooves, the prevalent haze and hanging vines cleared just enough to reveal the architecture beneath. A calliope organ pinwheels into “Anytime”’s anthemic drive, while the radio-friendly “Off the Record” shows off a newfound reggae lilt.
Rapturous rock remains their forte, though. New Testament allusions lay just below the surface on songs like “What a Wonderful Man He Was” and “Gideon,” both songs as ebullient as anything their closest counterparts, the Flaming Lips, ever encapsulated. And am I the only one that hears Eddie Rabbit’s “Step By Step” in “Lay Low”? A cathartic crescendo makes closer “Dondante” feel mountainous, the music slowly dissipating at disc’s end like so many clouds. -
They Say...
In 2004, a dreamy cover of "Rocket Man" concluded My Morning Jacket's first volume of rarities. Which was prescient, because it's Elton John that Jim James' songs for 2005's Z first bring to mind. From the wistful recollection of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" to Honky Chateau's melodic and genre explorations, John's ability to mesh styles and take detours within his sturdy pop songwriting applies to James here, particularly in the expansive opener, "Wordless Chorus," or the initial happy-go-lucky lilt of "Off the Record." Z is My Morning Jacket's fourth full-length (and second for ATO), and it's the one that might finally jump-start the reaction that James' music has always deserved. It Still Moves from 2003 rightly enjoyed its accolades, but it meandered a little structurally, too, and sometimes got a little lost in its own reverb. On Z, MMJ's traditional influences are present -- the folk, blues, and country tones of John, Neil Young, and the Band shaded by contemporaries like Mercury Rev and Mark Kozelek. But songs like "Lay Low" and "It Beats for You" are crafted tighter, their sound-drenched keyboard lines meeting the percussion head on and riding meaningful flourishes of electric guitar. "Gideon" climaxes in James calling out throatily over twinkling piano and big chords borrowed from the Who, and "What a Wonderful Man" is a raucous, crashing tumble of unhinged crash cymbals, barroom piano, and mirthful yelping. Z is intuitive, intensely creative, classicist-minded, nearly flawless. It's music that's extruded from Jim James' id, and that's bearded, too.
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You Say...
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| 01. |  |
Wordless Chorus |
4:12 |  |
| 02. | |
It Beats 4 U |
3:46 | |
| 03. | |
Gideon |
3:39 | |
| 04. | |
What a Wonderful Man |
2:25 | |
| 05. | |
Off the Record |
5:33 | |
| 06. | |
Into the Woods |
5:21 | |
| 07. | |
Anytime |
3:56 | |
| 08. | |
Lay Low |
6:05 | |
| 09. | |
Knot Comes Loose |
4:02 | |
| 10. | |
Dondante |
7:59 | |
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Credits
- Kevin Dean - Assistant // John Leckie - Producer // John Leckie - Mixing // Stephen Marcussen - Mastering // Harvey Sorgen - Assistant // Matthew Cullen - Assistant // Steve Ralbovsky - A&R // Danny Clinch - Photography // Andrew Bird - Strings // Andrew Bird - Strings // Andrew Bird - Whistle (Human) // Andrew Bird - Whistle (Human) // Clayton Scott - Assistant // Jim James - Producer // Jim James - Mixing // Jim James - Group Member // Two-Tone Tommy - Group Member // Danny Cash - Graphic Design // Carl Broemel - Group Member // Guy Burwell - Artwork // Bo Koster - Group Member // Patrick Hallahan - Group Member // Kathleen Lolley - Artwork // Scott Serota - Assistant // Nicolai Denchev - Artwork // Mike Fulkerson - Artwork
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