Z (My Morning Jacket album)

Z is the fourth studio album by rock band My Morning Jacket. This collection features a much spacier and more polished sound than previous releases, making heavy use of synthesizers throughout and incorporating reggae and dub influences. The heavy reverb that was a defining characteristic of the band's prior recordings is largely absent. The songs on the album are more focused and shorter in length compared to the bands previous albums.

A double-live album, Okonokos, was recorded at the end of the Z Tour and was released on September 26, 2006; it features live versions of eight of Z's 10 songs.

Production

Production was headed by John Leckie, famous for previous work with bands such as The Stone Roses and Radiohead. This is the first My Morning Jacket album to feature a producer, as vocalist Jim James had assumed the production duties on the band's previous efforts. The album marks another first, as the band recorded away from the Quaid family farm which had served as the inspiration for their first three albums. Instead, My Morning Jacket decided to record in New York's Allaire Studios, nestled deep in the Catskill Mountains. The change of scenery, influence of an experienced producer, and the addition of two new members contributed heavily to the transformation of the band's sound.

Composition

The albums first song, "Wordless Chorus", is a staple in the bands live performances and has been played live with musician Erykah Badu. Although the fourth track, "What a Wonderful Man" has an upbeat, happy sound, singer Jim James stated in "Velocity Weekly" that the song was written as a tribute to friend (and former bandmate) Aaron Todovich, who had committed suicide. The closing track, "Dondante", is also a tribute to his friend Aaron Todovich, as recently explained in the VH1 Storytellers performance of the track on June 3, 2011.

Digital rights management

The CD was one of the more high-profile releases in 2005 featuring digital rights management technology to prohibit owners from playing the music on a computer or creating digital copies.United States pressings of this CD contain MediaMax CD-3 by SunnComm.^[11] The band's manager, Mike Martinovich, expressed their dissatisfaction with the technology and it was abandoned on subsequent releases.^[12] The band themselves provided information on their website about how to bypass the software, and also offered to burn individual copies of the album for fans, free of copy-protection software. ^[13]

Critical reception

The album was the second highest rated album of 2005 according to Metacritic, behind Sufjan Stevens' Illinois; the album has a total score of 90 out of 100.^[14] Online music magazine Pitchfork Media placed Z at number 146 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.^[15]

Track listing

All songs written by Jim James, except where noted:

1. "Wordless Chorus" – 4:12
2. "It Beats 4 U" – 3:46
3. "Gideon" – 3:39
4. "What a Wonderful Man" – 2:25
5. "Off the Record" (James, "Two Tone" Tommy, Patrick Hallahan) – 5:33
6. "Into the Woods" – 5:21
7. "Anytime" – 3:56
8. "Lay Low" – 6:05
9. "Knot Comes Loose" – 4:02
10. "Dondante" – 8:01

The U.S.and Japanese pressing of the album contains the B-side "Chills"; digital copies include the other b-side "How Could I Know" as well.

Personnel

My Morning Jacket

• Carl Broemel – guitar
• Patrick Hallahan – drums
• Jim James – vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
• Bo Koster – keyboards
• "Two-Tone" Tommy – bass guitar

Additional musicians

• Andrew Bird – strings, and whistles on "Gideon", "Into the Woods", and "It Beats 4 U"
• M. Ward – acoustic guitar and background vocals on "Into the Woods"

Artwork

• Katie Beach
• Guy Burwel
• Nicolai Denchev
• Mike Fulkerson
• Brandon Jones
• Kathleen Lolley

Production

• Jim James – production
• John Leckie – production

Release history

†This edition includes the bonus track "Chills"

References

External links

• Z at Metacritic