Here we are, Christmas Eve Eve... Hours away from the time when children are at their most excited... kind of like the audience who was lucky enough to be present when our next album was recorded.
NUMBER 8:
My Morning Jacket - Okonokos
The second live album on our top 20 of the decade was called, by allmusic.com, "one of the best live recordings of the past 30 years". They won't get much argument from me.
It is clear that My Morning Jacket is one of the most important bands of the past 10 years. Picking a favorite of their oeuvre is not as easy, as they are consistently excellent in the studio. The high, echoed, silo sound of It Still Moves and the proto-Prince keyboards of Z are worlds apart sonically, but linked in their key elements - excellent guitar playing, a rock-solid rhythm section, and strangely obtuse lyrics. The true way to hear this band, though, is live - as evidenced by their headlining, star-making turn at the 2008 Bonnaroo festival (and their eardrum-torching set at the Kool Haus in Toronto in Spring of that year - yeah, I was lucky enough to be there).
Okonokos was recorded at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The accompanying DVD has had praised heaped upon it, but the music is what carries the day. The band's power is undeniable, but can switch to complete subtlety if need to be - check "Golden" - easily Mrs. Cuddle's favorite MMJ track - a beautiful acoustic guitar ode to the next plane of existence, it floats along on a beautifully picked lead guitar line and gentle slide guitar backing. The band's music is hook-laden, and ever-propelled by Jim James' broken falsetto. His howling lead vocal on the coda of the album's opener, "Wordless Chorus", is chill-inducing. Disc 2 really shows off the band's chops - the extended jams of "Steam Engine" and "Mahgeetah" are one thing, but the back to back colossuses of "Dondante" and "Run Thru" are downright epic. They seem to have movements much like classical music pieces and each reach deafening crescendos. The crowd is whipped into a frenzy with each passing moment, as if they understand that music history and the ascension of a legendary band is occurring in front of their eyes.
My Morning Jacket has been feted by publications, blogs, and critics alike (and has even been the subject of an episode of American Dad - if you haven't seen it, check out the episode "My Morning Straightjacket" here). The tracks below give a taste of the power of this band and this album. Please check them out and share them.
Happy Holidays, enjoy friends and family, and new music everywhere...
LOVE "I Will Sing You Songs"
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT
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