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Monsters of Folk (James, Oberst & Ward)


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I've had the Harrison thing for a few years now and it's really nice. I think "Behind That Locked Door" was featured on a Bloodshot compilation already, but the rest is worth hearing, too.

 

Yes, good call. "Behind That Locked Door" is on Bloodshot's For A Decade of Sin, and I also have it on The Mother Lodge: A Tribute To The Rudyard Kipling, Vol. 1.

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So that site says "Full Length Solo Record Coming Soon".

 

D'you think they're referring to the Harrison cover record, or a separate Yim project?

I'd say a second solo release. This Harrison thing is just an EP, isn't it?

 

If it is a full Jim solo LP, then good lord has that guy been busy lately. Monsters of Folk, a solo EP, and a solo LP?

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So excited about all of this! I have a bootleg of them playing a while back, solo songs and collaborations - Jim (or Yim) sings the most beautiful Always On My Mind...

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I'm just about ready for some new MMJ material, though I know it won't be anytime soon. Hopefully there will be some solo dates within the next 6 months.

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Another Billboard article:

 

Jim James Reveals George Harrison E.P. Details

Jim James of My Morning Jacket is releasing his first solo record, a collection of George Harrison covers.

June 25, 2009 11:07 AM ET

Michael D. Ayers, N.Y.

 

As reported yesterday, My Morning Jacket's Jim James (under the name Yim Yames) is slated to release his first solo offering on August 4 - a tribute to the late Beatle George Harrison. Fans will be able to get a taste of the entire EP starting on July 7 when the set becomes available via Yimyames.com for purchase. One track, "Behind That Locked Door," is available now as a free download on the website. Pre-orders for CD and vinyl versions will start on July 7 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.

 

"I felt like I was in the weirdest head space when I did that EP," James tells Billbaord.com of the 2001 recording session that took place just days after Harrison's death. "I felt really confused a lot of the time. I wanted to just do it and let it come out even if I messed stuff up. It's definitely not the tightest or most professional recording you're ever going to hear in your life but I like that. I think it lends it a more childish atmosphere."

 

"I wanted it to exist as a version of me back then, a person who is in love with George Harrison's music," he adds.

 

While fans can expect to hear James in a more raw, minimalist way he says that it's not just his voice and an acoustic guitar. "Love You To" is augmented with a banjo and "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" has James on piano. He also describes the arrangements of "My Sweet Lord" as "pretty faithful to the original version."

 

"It doesn't have any drums or anything like that, but it's a bit slower," he says. "I'm just playing the acoustic and singing; I just went in to overdub some backing vocals to create the all important backing vocals within that song."

 

Although James has been sitting on these recordings for quite awhile, he says the time "never felt right until now" to release them - and his participation in David Lynch's "Change Begins Within" concert provided a small catalyst in renewing his interest. "That was one of the things that made me want to release it again," he says. "Being at that benefit, George's name came up a lot. Talking with people who had known him, his spirit was very big at that event."

 

James also revealed that he's in the beginning stages of working on a full length solo record, but it's still coming to fruition. "It's not planned or mapped out; I'm just kind of setting up a home studio and star ting to get into that again. Sit around by myself and play stuff. I think that's in the works but it's hard to say when."

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there's 4-5 great songs on Evil Urges, but it's far and away their worst album.

 

honestly the band has been sliding slowly downhill since At Dawn. which is unfortunate because they're still pretty amazing live

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there's 4-5 great songs on Evil Urges, but it's far and away their worst album.

 

honestly the band has been sliding slowly downhill since At Dawn. which is unfortunate because they're still pretty amazing live

 

while recognizing the greatness of at dawn, i liked both z and evil urges a lot. honestly.

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oh i loved Z too, but if i was to rank MMJ's catalog, it'd go:

 

At Dawn

 

 

 

 

It Still Moves

Z

 

Tennessee Fire (mostly due to the production, songwise it's up there w/ ISM)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evil Urges

 

so saying they've gone downhill in the studio, while maybe harsh sounding, is accurate for me.

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i would love for the taste of evil urges to be washed out of my mouth as well. that was terrible for mmj standards, although it actually wasn't that bad of an album..........i don't know how you can say they've been going downhill since at dawn though. at dawn is their masterpiece in my opinion as well, but they change it up on every release. i think it still moves and z are just as good for what they were trying to accomplish. evil urges, not so much....

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i freakin' love evil urges for the most part.

 

 

I do too.

 

And I think this answers my question from the other day...thanks, Analog!

 

James also revealed that he's in the beginning stages of working on a full length solo record, but it's still coming to fruition. "It's not planned or mapped out; I'm just kind of setting up a home studio and star ting to get into that again. Sit around by myself and play stuff. I think that's in the works but it's hard to say when."

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i would love for the taste of evil urges to be washed out of my mouth as well. that was terrible for mmj standards, although it actually wasn't that bad of an album..........i don't know how you can say they've been going downhill since at dawn though. at dawn is their masterpiece in my opinion as well, but they change it up on every release. i think it still moves and z are just as good for what they were trying to accomplish. evil urges, not so much....

 

downhill is a relative term in this case... in that just based on my enjoyment level of their albums post At Dawn has nearly decreased with every release. sure they're still a great band, and like you said, Evil Urges is mostly just bad by their own standards. like, Pfork score wise, it's probably like:

 

At Dawn: 9.4

It Still Moves: 8.8

Z: 8.7

Tennessee Fire: 8.3

Evil Urges: 7.2

 

so not terrible, but a far cry from their best stuff for me too.

 

i just would really love for a new MMJ album with only 1-2 songs i don't like (ie: like on It Still Moves & Z), or even better, that i like every song (see At Dawn)

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downhill is a relative term in this case... in that just based on my enjoyment level of their albums post At Dawn has nearly decreased with every release. sure they're still a great band, and like you said, Evil Urges is mostly just bad by their own standards. like, Pfork score wise, it's probably like:

 

At Dawn: 9.4

It Still Moves: 8.8

Z: 8.7

Tennessee Fire: 8.3

Evil Urges: 7.2

 

so not terrible, but a far cry from their best stuff for me too.

 

i just would really love for a new MMJ album with only 1-2 songs i don't like (ie: like on It Still Moves & Z), or even better, that i like every song (see At Dawn)

 

I love Evil Urges.

I love all of their albums, I just don't feel the need to catalogue them by order of excellence. (nothing wrong with that, it's just not necessary for me)

So I see no downward spiral in album quality.

But I think we can all agree studio albums aside, the band in itself has grown tremendously over the years. They have developped into a force of rock that cannot be stopped.

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James also revealed that he's in the beginning stages of working on a full length solo record, but it's still coming to fruition. "It's not planned or mapped out; I'm just kind of setting up a home studio and star ting to get into that again. Sit around by myself and play stuff. I think that's in the works but it's hard to say when."

Awesome. I have a feeling I'm going to like that more than I like My Morning Jacket.

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