American rock group My Morning Jacket has made quite a name for themselves in music, with over 1 million monthly listeners and music dating back to 1999. This newest album proves exactly why there is such dedication from their fans. Reading up on them, many people consider them one of the greatest live bands around today. Given the amount of energy put into this album, I don’t doubt that to be true.
This album is pure American rock if I’ve ever heard it, with obvious influences from the greats like Grateful Dead, Wilco, and even Allman Brothers Band. All the makings of a great rock album are there – sick guitar riffs, a singer with a raspy voice, a driving percussion section, and a pure, unedited (or rather not hyper-edited) sound. My Morning Jacket could seemingly fit into any time period. You could find them at Woodstock or ACL and both would feel rights. (Side Note: They did in fact play Austin City Limits in 2008). The album opens with “Regularly Scheduled Programming,” one of the more bluesy songs on the album with Stevie Ray Vaughn-like guitar that slowly builds throughout the whole song until it all breaks through about ¾ of the way into the song. This is followed by “Love Love Love,” which feels a little more psychedelic and quite literally carries the 70s theme of loving everyone, with the line “the more you give, the more you get, now tell it to the world.” Couldn’t get more classic rock than that.
“In Color” is probably my favorite off the album, a slower track that encourages us to see life in color and not black and white because everything is more beautiful in color. I absolutely love the backing vocals that are used just right and really add to the feel of the song. “Never In The Real World” is where I hear a bit of Rolling Stones influence, complete with a Keith Richards style effect on the guitar. As previously mentioned, we hear more of the greats all throughout this album. “Least Expected” sounds like it could have been written by Jerry Garcia himself, and Allman Brothers seem to come through on “Penny For Your Thoughts.”
If you’re looking for that classic rock sound in a modern band, I couldn’t recommend a better place to start than this self-titled album by My Morning Jacket. You get a taste of all the elements of rock we all love with a more modern twist that keeps us coming back for more. A great road trip album is often hard to come by these days, but this one might just be our saving grace.
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