My Morning Jacket Album: “The Tennessee Fire”

I bought It Still Moves and after half a dozen listens was still unsure how I felt about it. Many times you pick up an album and after a few listens you get it. The album becomes familiar. Not so with my morning jacket, their songs are very difficult to classify or break down. At first listen The Tennessee Fire seems roughly recorded, as if recorded live, but on closer inspection you'll notice that one song may be recoded as if you're listening across a room and the next as if you're at the front of a stage. This is not an amateur recording, but rather a very deliberate use of sound to create a song's atmosphere. Although I found the effect unnerving on It Still Moves my first listening, My Morning Jacket use their recording studio's natural acoustics as part of their sound on all their albums. This is a very rough album with some very polished corners... but the loose ends are exquisite.

AT DAWN is their masterpiece. TENNESSEE FIRE is where you go for more. Recorded under questionable conditions, this is their big hello to the world. It was recorded in a barn at their own expense & it sounds like it. My first introduction to the band was through The Oxford American Annual Music Issue Sampler. The song featured, was "Evelyn Is Not Real". I kept playing it over & over till I could get my hands on a proper album. What I heard was infectious & mysterious. Kind of a cross between very early REM & Neil Young. Twangy enough to merit comparisons to Uncle Tupelo & Wilco, but far less premeditated. Needless to say, the hookey opener, "Heartbreakin' Man" did not disappoint my high expectations. Let lines like, "20x's I wish you'd understand that you're breaking the hearts of great men" serve as cause for further investigation. "They Ran", "The Bear" bring to mind the more sombre moments of the now legendary Big Star. If you marveled at "Daisy Glaze" off of RADIO CITY or "Big Black Car" from 3rd/SISTER LOVERS, then this band is for you. Frontman, Jim James likes his reverb. Infact, he cranks it to 11. So everything sounds echoey & slightly underwater. But passionate offerings like, "Nashville To Kentucky" prove they can wade in without drowning. "All Else Fails" brings the Indy quirkiness of Will Oldham to mind. I love the bit of banjo they put into it. "It's About Twilight Now" prove these guys can rock & "I Will Be There When You Die" is heartwarming. Though a few of these 15 tracks may not grab you at first, there's plenty of bait on here to reel you in.

If VU was the best underground band of the 60's. Big Star, the 70's. Early REM, the 80's & Uncle Tupelo in the 90's. Well, My Morning Jacket is out there for you here & now.

My morning jacket's first album's best quality are the songs. The recording is strange. Why strange? I can't figure out why this band would appear so lazy in the production of this brilliant work. Is there some kind of artistic quality of a subdued voice on one track and a loud and crystal one on another? No, it couldn't have been intentional. But still, the lack of production doesn't take much away from the songs. It could have been the album of the year if the production was better. The first three songs flow together as if it were produced by Steve Lilywhite. 'Heartbreakin Man' combines a killer surf guitar riff with a country verse - an odd combo but they pull it off seamlessly. 'They ran' is a lonely drunken daze - but its slow cadence and minimal instrumentation allows James talents as a singer to radiate. 'The bear' must have been recorded with the studio in one room and james singing in the hallway. This still doesn't take away from your enjoyment of the song. Nashville to Kentucky is another slow bluesy song. It takes patience to appreciate it but it has numerous qualities. 'Old September Blues' is one of the shining moments on this standout album. It's another kind of whiney song that reminds me of Thom Yorke of Radiohead for some reason. 'If all else fails' is probably my favorite on this album. It's an acoustic waltz with a banjo thrown in. The production on this one is quite good. They use nice reverb on harmonizing vocals at the chorus that adds to the aesthetic. 'Its about twilight' is a harder rocking electric acoustic combo that shows the immaturity of the band at the time. 'Evelyn is not real' is more on par with the rest. It's a solid country-pop song. 'War begun' is another nice slower acoustic song that could have been alot better if well you know...The rest of the album kind of drags along with highlights here and there. It could have definitely been shorter (over 70 minutes). Overall, this album's qualities clearly outweigh the production problems. And, in some cases, the band made great choices with the production and the results are very satisfying. I would recommend 'the tennesse fire' to almost anyone. However, those who bought 'it still moves' first should expect a much slower album. But, the great thing about this album is the songs - most, not all, are just as good as those found on 'it still moves.' Haven't heard of 'it still moves'? Buy it and feel pure pleasure reverberate through you.

This is the best album to come out of Louisville, I do believe. For all the indie-rock posers who refuse to let go of their Slint, Babylon Dance Band and ever-precious Rodan, this is a REAL RECORD! Jim has a SWEET voice which carries throught the low-fi production. Great harmonies. A really good blend of Brian Wilson and Graham Parker, Flying Burrito Bros and the Byrds etc. Would be FIVE STARS if not for the production, which is a little murky for my taste, but fans of low-fi alt-country should dig it regardless.

Classic MMJ, with the oringinal line-up including Danny Cash and Johnny Quaid. Also J Glenn on drums.'TTN' and 'At Dawn' are both amazing but between the two this one's my favorite of their original early recordings (w/ the old guys). Every song on this album is Beautiful in it's own way. I'm in love with the world this album takes me to.