lost highway Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Anyone not really loving this album right now. At first glance I think it is pretty poor.......but it is also a shocker. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrNo Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Anyone not really loving this album right now. At first glance I think it is pretty poor.......but it is also a shocker. I think it sucks ass. Apparently their principal influences are now Christopher Cross and Prince. And where the fuck is the goddamn reverb?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nettles Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Could use a pm if anyone's feeling like sharing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jc4prez Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Anyone not really loving this album right now. At first glance I think it is pretty poor.......but it is also a shocker. Most of it ranges from strange to silly. I guess we'll have to wait till the next one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kalle Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I have absolutely NO CLUE what to think of this album upon first listen... Wow lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Wow, I wasn't expecting this to be such a divisive record! I think it's fucking incredible, personally. Just the biggest summer anthem disc these guys have put out to date, which is really saying something. The title track is one of the ten best things Jim's ever written, and the slower songs are just vamping it up halfway between Al Green and Wilco territory. I still think Highly Suspicious is way too silly to be enjoyable, though. That was true of the live versions from last month, and the studio recording doesn't really do anything to improve the song. Librarian is timelessly gorgeous, as folk songs go, and I love that we can now slap "interweb" up there next to "Jebus" on the "goofy pop culture words Jim uses with a straight face" board. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I'm going to be the first to go on the record and say I like Highly Suspicious. But then again, I like silly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chisoxjtrain Posted April 23, 2008 Author Share Posted April 23, 2008 I'm going to be the first to go on the record and say I like Highly Suspicious. But then again, I like silly. I agree, I think its a fun song, and its definitely one of my favorites on the album Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 besides Highly Suspicious, which is this albums "Into The Woods", it's a fantastic record. tracks 4-12 are stellar and all very much classic sounding MMJ minus maybe Remnants, which rocks hard. is it as amazing as At Dawn? hell no... i don't think they'll ever touch that one songwriting wise... it was a completely different band then, only 2 people who played on that album remain in the band today. I'm enjoying this more than Z right out of the gate though, and could possibly see it surpassing It Still Moves (which while it has higher highs, isn't as consistently great). i think starting off with those first 3 songs they chose is a bit unfortunate, because it turns people off right away, whereas had they interspersed those tracks (especially Highly Suspicious, or just left it as a hidden track or b-side), later in the album, i don't think it'd throw as many people off, because it's not really THAT out there of a record, in fact it's less experimental than Z overall. i'm gonna come up with a tracklist that i think works better and post it... edit: Highly Suspicious is a dumb song but fun live, but it takes an album like this down a notch IMO... it's just unnecessary, but that's Jim's weird sense of humor for ya. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilco LP #7 Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I'm enjoying it a lot so far. It's all over the place. I kind of saw this coming when I looked the Okonokos liner notes. You certainly can't complain about lack of originality, or lack of talent either. Mmmmmm it's about time this fucker leaked. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 besides Highly Suspicious, which is this albums "Into The Woods", it's a fantastic record. tracks 4-12 are stellar and all very much classic sounding MMJ minus maybe Remnants, which rocks hard. is it as amazing as At Dawn? hell no... i don't think they'll ever touch that one songwriting wise... it was a completely different band then, only 2 people who played on that album remain in the band today. I'm enjoying this more than Z right out of the gate though, and could possibly see it surpassing It Still Moves (which while it has higher highs, isn't as consistently great). i think starting off with those first 3 songs they chose is a bit unfortunate, because it turns people off right away, whereas had they interspersed those tracks (especially Highly Suspicious, or just left it as a hidden track or b-side), later in the album, i don't think it'd throw as many people off, because it's not really THAT out there of a record, in fact it's less experimental than Z overall. i'm gonna come up with a tracklist that i think works better and post it... edit: Highly Suspicious is a dumb song but fun live, but it takes an album like this down a notch IMO... it's just unnecessary, but that's Jim's weird sense of humor for ya. Wow. I could have written that about this record. It's almost like this is MMJ's A Ghost is Born, a bit of a sampler platter with all kinds of different styles represented, most all of them wonderfully executed. And I agree that it isn't really "experimental," for all the advance press made it out to be some total departure for the band. It's a very logical extension of the sound they moved gracefully into with Z, and the songcraft is exceptional as always. I swear, MMJ and Wilco are the two bands these days that can't make a bad record. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 i kind of wonder if Jim's forwarning about the record maybe taking some people off guard or having to take a while to sink in was mostly based on those first 3 songs being 3 of the 4 more "experimental" songs on the disc as that's what people will all hear right away when they listen to this album. but yeah... i didn't expect it to be THIS good honestly... i'm not gonna say it's an amazing record yet, but it only solidifies their already stellar catalog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oceanman Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 please excuse my sexual vulgarity: This cd makes me wan't to take off all my clothes and drive around my back roads blind folded. A turn at every corner. You hater's hate can you can't pin point it's intent. I can't waite to make nasty with this one............................period Thank you Jim for spicing up the bedroom...........................period Yes, it's intent is to shed your skivies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Welsh Rich Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Good point about the tracklisting Kyle - I think that's it. The opening segment of the album is the poorest part of it. If they had been mixed in, it would have been easier to swallow, so to speak. I don't think it's a particularly experimental album, it certainly feels like a continuation of stuff they'd been messing around with on Z. I do think Highly Suspicious sucks monkey balls though - wish they'd left that on the cutting room floor or something. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Synthesizer Patel Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 the first part of the album is my favourite at the moment. evil urges is the best song they've ever recorded, i'm amazed is great, highly suspicious is great (although the drums let it down), and although touch me is the weakest link, it's still really good. i'd like to hear the actual cd, as the rip i've got is very flat sounding. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Welsh Rich Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I'm going to reserve final judgment on the album as a whole until I've heard it properly... maybe some of the tracks will sound a bit bigger. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m_thomp Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Sec Walkin' is my favourite so far. Very smooth. I also like title track a lot too. I don't think there's a track that I dislike on it, although there some which are better than others, obviously. Left leg...... right leg.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 i really need to listen to this more because i have not enjoyed it much. i have an odd relationship with mmj though. i love them live & used to be obsessed with at dawn/it still moves but now i have a hard time listening to anything by them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scalzunfield Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I'm glad I came here now and read this thread: I'm on my first listen through and wrapping up "Highly Suspicious" as we speak and was getting scared the whole album was like this... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mfwahl Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Loving it. I also like prince though, which it sounds like a lot of people here don't. I really like touch me i'm going to scream pt 2. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tangara Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I'm glad I came here now and read this thread: I'm on my first listen through and wrapping up "Highly Suspicious" as we speak and was getting scared the whole album was like this... "Highly Suspicious" is SO much fun live, though. You'll laugh and shake your ass. It's good times. Who doesn't love a little Prince?? That Red Rocks date is killllllllling me. Their show with Bob there last summer was one of the best nights of my life. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 i feel the need to speak up on this one. i've been a rabid fan of the band for a number of years and, in regard to the trajectory of their career, i was just thinking the other day that, one day, i may be one of those people that says they like "early My Morning Jacket." maybe it's because i'm originally from the country myself, but i'm in love with the hazy, psychedelic vibe of The Tennessee Fire, At Dawn and It Still Moves. now, as far as Z goes, i think a great deal of the tracks are just excellent, but it lost the abandoned grain silo feel of the first three records, probably due in part to them replacing two members, and, um, not recording in a grain silo. again, i still think it's a very good album, but i don't find myself pulling it out as much as the others. being that Evil Urges seems to have the same sound, i feel like this record will be the same for me. i mean, "Smokin' From Shootin'" and "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream, Part 2" are fucking stellar, ya know? at any rate, i'd also like to say that's personal i suppose and it's not as if i'm not willing to follow them in the direction they are heading or that i'd be close-minded in any regard. i might even change my mind...when Iron & Wine expanded into that tribal, world-music thing he/they have going on with The Shepherd's Dog, i thought i'd forever be a fan of "early Iron & Wine." that turned out not to be the case, as i now prefer that record to any of the others. having had experience with Z though, i feel as if this will not be the case. ...and i fucking hate "Highly Suspicious." that song is dumb. -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rareair Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 nice. that will be a great way to turn 36. never been to red rocks either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PigSooie Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I'm addicted to "Sec Walkin." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
giraffo Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 could I get a PM of this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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