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Z (My Morning Jacket album)

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Z is the fourth studio album by rock band My Morning Jacket. This collection features a much spacier and polished sound than previous MMJ releases, making heavy use of synthesizers throughout and incorporating small bits of reggae and dub. The heavy reverb, a characteristic of the band's recordings prior to Z, is largely absent. The Cd calms, yet creeps on later tracks such as, Into the woods, Knot Comes Loose, and Dondante. Some of Jim James words are matched with sounds that represent what he sings.

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

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.[citation needed] The closing track, "Dondante", also deals with the death of someone close to James.[citation needed]

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.[1] The band's manager, Mike Martinovich, expressed their dissatisfaction with the technology and it was abandoned on subsequent releases.[2]

Critical reception

The album was the second highest rated album of 2005 according to Metacritic, behind Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise; the album has a total score of 90 out of 100.[3]

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

Personnel

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
Worldwide October 4, 2005 (2005-10-04) Badman LP 947
United States ATO/RCA Compact Disc 71067
Europe BMG 21448
United States ATO 21601
Japan BMG 21448
2006 24078†
United States 2008 ATO LP 8808821601

†This edition includes the bonus track "Chills"

References

  1. ^ "Are You Infected by Sony-BMG's Rootkit?". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  2. ^ Brian Hiatt (2005-12-31). "Copy-Protection Troubles Grow". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-08-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "My Morning Jacket: Z (2005)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
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