“One Big Holiday”
from the album It Still Moves
2003
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Kentucky’s My Morning Jacket has only been around for little more than six years, but already the band has racked up an impressive amount of original material, numerous lineup changes and a healthy travelogue that has included much-anticipated performances at the last three Bonnaroo festivals. Also, MMJ is a band that exists rather comfortably out of time. The solos are trebly and drenched with feedback, almost Skynyrd-ian. Frontman Jim James’ high, sorrowful vocal style has been saddled with seemingly endless Neil Young and Brian Wilson comparisons. In turn, the group provides an intriguing body of work carved out by dogged DIY perseverance.
Fronted by hirsute singer-guitarist James, the band arrived comparatively quietly with 1999’s The Tennessee Fire, the debut full-length released by California indie label Darla. In those days, the lineup included guitarist Johnny Quaid (also James’ cousin), bassist Two Tone Tommy and drummer J. Glenn. That incarnation of My Morning Jacket was a critical success in the States, but its music resonated far better with European audiences, particularly of the Belgian and Dutch variety.
My Morning Jacket’s 2001 release At Dawn also found critical success. But by that time Wilco had fused together their Southwest rock and experimental leanings, the Flaming Lips had become a household name and MMJ’s stomping, distorted brand of heavy rock was noticed by both the press and a wave of new listeners. The lineup had already shifted again, seeing the entry of keyboard player Danny Cash and new drummer K.C. Guetig — who would soon be replaced by Patrick Hallahan, a longtime friend of James.
Shortly after, It Still Moves arrived in late 2003, MMJ had yet another lineup (Quaid and Cash parted soon after the album’s completion; James brought in keyboard player Bo Koster and guitarist Carl Broemel), new album and new record label (the Dave Matthews-owned BMG offshoot ATO). The band’s unhinged sound had congealed into a conflictingly brawny and fragile high-wire act thanks to James’ propulsive vocals and the band’s unpredictable guitar attack, both evidenced on anthemic tracks like “Golden,” “Dancefloors” and “Magheeta.” Again like Wilco and the Lips, the psychedelic-tinged, slightly Southern rock and diverse, harmonic arrangements have made the sound popular with an eclectic mix: jam band crowds, indie audiences, alt-country hipsters, etc., etc.
In 2004, MMJ and Darla issued two Early Recordings volumes, respectively subtitled The Sandman Cometh and Learning. The two discs compiled early 7″ tracks, compilation appearances, home recordings, ersatz covers and other such rarities — many featuring either the band’s initial Tennessee Fire lineup or simply James himself supplying all the instruments. Songs like “That Someone Else Was You” and “Weeks Go By Like Days” only hinted at the band’s more cohesive later model, while covers of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” the Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls” and, for the real obscurists, Erykah Badu’s “Tyrone” offer a glimpse into James’ eclectic personal tastes as both a songwriter and performer.
“I don’t think you can compare then with now, really,” says James. “We were much younger then, so obviously the [early songs] sound much different. Plus, the band has gone through so many lineup changes. But I also think that’s been fun in a way, ‘cause it means we have a whole roster of stuff that sounds completely different. People might get into it all, or maybe just different periods.”
Earlier this moth, the band headed back to Tennessee for another Bonnaroo, and James would prefer to think that’s just part of the gig anyway.
“We try not to care about group divisions as far as audiences and stuff like that because that’s just silly,” he says. “We welcome anyone at our shows. The great thing about music is that it can bring people of all walks together. We tour a lot and play festival dates when we can. That’s usually very fun because it allows you to play to a larger crowd than you might be used to and sometimes you get to watch your heroes perform from the side of the stage. I mean, I’ve seen Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the Flaming Lips all within pissing distance!”
~ Michael Andrews, Flagpole Magazine
In September, the band — with two new members — will release a new album, entitled Z and produced by the legendary John Leckie (whose credits include George Harrison, Pink Floyd, XTC, the Verve, and Radiohead).
 My Morning Jacket |