Evil Urges... And Other Thoughts On My Morning Jacket

Here's one I've tried to give some time, hoping it would grow on me a bit more, but... nope. Overrated. Whatchagonnado?

Of course, that said, "Aluminum Park," the standout track from My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges, may be one of the 2 or 3 best songs of 2008. More than any song out there, it makes me feel like listening to some hot shit classic rock song on a booming old-fashioned hi-fi that takes up half the living room circa 1976. Think "Born To Run," think Zeppelin, think early 70s Who. Yet it still sounds contemporary, dense but not bloated. If there's a song out this year more deserving of playing at the highest volume you can manage without blowing out your speakers, I haven't heard it. Oh, and "I'm Amazed"? Pretty great, too.

But, beyond that, pretty inconsistent album. Personally, while I love (or at least strongly like) this band), none of their albums are totally consistent, and even their strongest studio output -- 2003's It Still Moves and 2005 follow-up Z -- have some dead spots, while even at their heights rarely rising to the bone-chilling power of their live shows. Which is why 2006's obligatory double-live Okonokos (also on DVD) is probably their closest thing to an essential release.

Of course, if the right person were to come along and compile their best studio work onto a single-cdr mix, it would blow your face right fucking off. Something like this:


(Alas, I only have the five proper albums and not the myriad ep's, demo collections, etc. that they've released over the years, so this may be missing a key track or two.)

Yeah, so, the video...


That one's incomplete and not perfect sound, so here's the studio video for "I'm Amazed":