Hawaii Surf 68

"I been waitin on the boat here I been waitin so long
can he see me? Does he feel me? Does he know me at all?
Does it shiver? Always deliver? Does it know me at all?
Bang! Bang! Goes the night. all wrapped up in the firelight
don't rock bottom, just listen. Just slow down
so... now are you ready to go, my lady?" - Mahgeeta

The first time I heard My Morning Jacket, it was about sunset on a humid summer day. Red light, reaching over the hills, "Mahgeeta" slowly crept into and filled my car. The opening guitars somehow "awakened" my hidden, Italian blood buried deep in my veins; bringing along with it nostalgia for wine-soaked nights under a cosmic sky. I instantly knew this was the band for me. As I have come to find out, this is fairly consistent with the MMJ enthusiasts. Before I knew it, I had purchased all of their albums, and was slowly starting to discover the man behind the band, Jim James.

In an age of hyped bands with big producers, that all has to mainly to do with one thing, green; MMJ breaks out of the mold with a sound that is produced, but still has 100% of the heart of an early original cut. How has MMJ captured this energy?


Jim James produces every bit of music, head to toe, from the flowing, almost liquid sound of the band, to the mysterious, eloquent lyrics that rise to the occasion where many bands fall short. Not to mention they have no concern with what the industry is run on, money.

As James says in "The Dark"

"MONEY don't do a thing for me. I'm happy now, that's how I be."

Jim James is the product of several rock legends' (Neil Young, Roy Orbison, Andy Warhol, etc) night of passionate lovemaking. Consequently, My Morning Jacket's, music is all over the place. Ranging from shit-kicking country-rock, to lonely folk songs, to just good ol' rock n' roll.


Most people like to categorize MMJ under alt-country, or nu-folk. Does this say that you can use these rock legends and genres to define Jim James and MMJ? Absolutely not, that would be like comparing Luke Skywalker to Darth Vader. Trying to categorize this band under a specific genre is not only impossible, but an insult to the band's talent and range. When they have songs like "Phone Went West," off their second album At Dawn, which has a reggae feel to it, and "Golden" off of their first album with ATO Records It Still Moves, that has strong early rockabilly influences; can you see why I find it unnecessary to attempt to put the band into a genre?

How about just saying that MMJ is a rock n roll band? Cranking that amp up to the "11" setting and letting the music roam wherever it wants, touring like they can't get enough of it, and loving it every second of it. Think that sounds great? Wait till you hear the band live.


Along with a few other things that MMJ sent me to write the article, they gave me a copy of "Live at Bonnaroo '04." Having heard rumors of this fabled night where the clouds broke open in the middle of their set, and the quality of the concert, I was excited to give the album a listen. It turned out to be what I had expected. The bands on-stage sprawling sound and presence resonated the ambiance of that night. Not only were they louder, and better on stage, their music adapted even better. Not to negate from the excellence of their albums, but MMJ is a band made to see live.