My Morning Jacket - At Dawn (14 tracks) +Album Reviews

Love Is The Word

Jason Bylinowski | Augusta, GA, United States | 09/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Figured this review section could use some non-Kentucky commentary, though it's certainly good to see that the band still has a strong regional following after all this time.This album [drew] me in, as none other really has in a very long time. I've been very jaded lately about new music, not that any that I listen to is very poor: more like, none of it stands out very far in my mind, lately. This one is different, somehow....first of all, Jim's voice is just about as good as it gets for the kind of twang he puts into his performances. It's utterly fitting of the style of down-home music they play, and yet it's not a pure-country voice by a stretch. (Like the voice of someone who is country whether they like it or not, sort of like I am by heritage.) Anyway, the man has pipes and he makes very dynamic use of it throughout this long (73 minutes!) album. Secondly, the production on this album is superior....fans of the Tennessee Fire will notice a HUGE difference between the way the band sounds here and how they sounded in their official debut. Of course, you should not be too discouraged to get TF if you enjoy this album, for the simple fact of its brilliance will always surpass whatever they were financially lacking during the recording of the album. But, At Dawn is a much better introduction for the new listener in my opinion, and it also has a little more rock action in it.I digress, as always. Simply put, if you are not completely urbanized beyond your own control, or too fascinated with American Idol to give real music a chance, you WILL find a reason to love this album....& this statement is coming from a HUGE Aphex Twin / Philip Glass fanatic of many many years, so I know what I'm talking about. Good art doesn't require a specific genre or one particular artist, good music only requires real pathos and the raw talent to back it up, and these guys prove that yes, even country-rock can be artful and sincere at its best - although a little reggae never hurt anybody either."

New Day Rising

Tiernan Henry | Galway, Ireland | 04/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A recent MOJO alerted me to My Morning Jacket. Though "At Dawn" is a couple of years old, it has just been released on this side of the Atlantic.A dreamy, soaring collection of songs, "At Dawn" is achingly beautiful and the title is oh so appropriate; there is a slightly unreal edge to the songs, they seem to shimmer in the new day's light. Beautifully arranged and played the songs are a delight. Melodic, hypnotic and arresting the songs have a lived in, yet brand new, feel. The key, however, is Jim James.His voice pushes the songs right to the edge, investing them with a thrilling and stirring emotional depth. He has one of those rare voices - part country, part rock, part soul - that is a mix of ability and emotion. Think vintage Rick Danko and Richard Manuel.CDs can be fraught things: all too often a band with 40 great minutes releases 74 mediocre minutes, because, well, they can. It's rare to find a full length - or as good as full length - CD that sustains through a full hour and a quarter."At Dawn" zips by.Hints of Mercury Rev, Lambchop and Flaming Lips weave in and out of the mix, alongside nods to Neil Young and Bob Dylan (and - in mood, if not in sound - "Music from Big Pink" and "The Band").A very American collection, "At Dawn" is absorbing, engrossing and hugely, hugely entertaining.Don't miss this early moring call."

A little bit country, a little bit pop. A lot of talent.

M. Lewis | louisville, ky United States | 05/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having seen My Morning Jacket live a couple of times, both as a full band and as the Jim James solo act, I was eager to hear this album. This, MMJ's second full length, is a truly great follow-up to The Tennessee Fire. It is a little more laid back, a little more country-influenced, but not so much as to depart from their signature mix of pop, rock, and alt-country. The best part of this new album is that a second cd is included with the original versions of the songs as laid down by Jim with just his guitar. It offers us the chance to hear how the band sounds as a whole and as Jim's solo project. The bottom line is: if you like melancholy music with just enough fun and happiness to keep you interested, if you like melody and amazing vocal work, if you like good, earthy music, this is for you. However, if you're not very much into country, I recommend you start with their first LP, The Tennessee Fire, and work your way into this one. Wonderful music all around."

The perfect transition to "It Still Moves"

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 06/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My Morning Jacket has rapidly evolved over its 4 albums, and the evolution is fascinating to follow. Its 1999 debut album "Tennessee Fire" was a journey into Americana, almost entirely based on dreamy, accoustic songs.

The band's second album "At Dawn" (14 tracks, 74 min.), issued in 2001, eloaborates on the themes explored in "Tennessee Fire" in many songs such as the title track, "Lowdown" and others. But the band expands its sound greatly, introducing the electric guitar on the brooding "Honest Man", an all-out rocker on "Strangulation" and even a slight reggae sound on "Phone Went West", forshadowing the "Off the Record" song on last year's "Z" album. In retrospect, this album is the perfectly logical middle link between "Tennessee Fire" and its next album "It Still Moves", and a great album at that, albeit somewhat overlong at 74 min. Nevertheless, it's a must for any MMJ fan and it certainly won't disappoint the casual fan or any fan of great music.

My Morning Jacket continues to ascend the ranks in the music biz. It builds its reputation not just with great album after gret album, but with amazing live shows. When I saw the band most recently, at Bonnaroo earlier this month, it put on an epic, monstrous really, 3 hour set that started at midnight. It brought the house down with its tireless energy and great song selection (both originals and covers). MMJ will be heard of for many years to come, no question."

Greatest album, maybe not even from this planet.

Christopher Ruble | Fort Wayne, IN | 07/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you read my title, it sounds like I may be strange or just looking to be goofy, but after I saw My Morning jacket this year at Bonnaroo, I'm not totally convinced that Jim James and the rest of the crew is entirely human. The sound of Jim James and the dynamic sound of the band in full is beyond anything that should ever be possible from a mear mortal human being. The album, AT DAWN, has been one of my favorite five albums of all time for well over a year now, but it's an album that may possibly grow on a person for years, or maybe lifetimes, or maybe even reincarnated lives, etc. It hits the soul in ways I didn't think possible. I really don't think (aside from MMJ themselves) that any album will ever be made again that reaches this deeply into the human spiritual core. This album leaves me trembling and feeling reborn after every listen. I was late getting into My Morning Jacket, and now I can't stop thinking about them and it's almost odd how integrated their music is with my life. Appropriately enough, they have possibly the most fitting song in the history of life to describe how I feel about Jim James and the way the music makes me feel. To take an exact quote from the song "The Way That He Sings":

"Why does my mind blow to bits every time they play that song?

It's just the way that he sings,

not the words that he says, or the band.

Im in love with this soul, it's a meaning that I understand."

Those lines are the most appropriate lines I have ever heard. Because it's the way I feel every time I hear every part of that song, and of the album. Of course, I do love the lyrics and the band, etc, but there is something in the way that he sings that blows my mind to bits. Every song on this album is so beautiful and hypnotic that it could arguably stand out on any other album in music history. Please give this album many chances, and realize that it may take several listens before you even can get to the next level of the greatness of this album. I heard it almost four or five times, casually, before it started to hit me, and then one day, I immediately named it one of my favorite five albums; now it's my number one without any doubts. Only this band could top the effort of At Dawn. I really can't say any more about this album other than that it is just simply the most beautiful thing I have ever encountered in my life. This album is special, and the band is as much. I've only seen them twice, but please see them after you get familiar with at least a couple of their albums, and I promise you will come back home and play their albums more religiously than a priest reads a verse before mass.

"

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