Customer Reviews

Chocolate & Ice

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

AT DAWN is a great recrord. TENNESSEE FIRE is equally stunning, despite it's crude recording methods. This latest release sounds like it was recorded mid tour in a fancy studio. Suffice it to say, this is not their most focused work. The opening cut has all the elements of a great song, but is a little too off the cuff to be memorable. "Sooner" & the closer, "Sweeatheart" are more on par. "Cobra" is a sprawling epic, verging on 15 minutes. But it's no SISTER RAY. It comes off sounding more like some loose bootleg jam session. Or 5 songs trying to be one. In other words, it's "bong soundtrack" material. I bet some record company was footing the bill for this session. "It's Been A Great 3 or 4 Years" isn't a song so much as an answering machine message from someone who used to be in the band. That said, it's kind of moving but you get it after the first listen. Things get back on track with the short but sweet, "Holy". But the aformentioned, "Sooner" & "Sweetheart" are gems. So this is for die-hard fans only. By & large it's the sound of a couple of guys messing around, blowing off some steam. Certainly, not essential.

One of my morning jacket's most inconsistent and weird recordings to date, "Chocolate and Ice" runs as long as a strokes album. The unfortunate thing is Jim James' muse led him to record a 24 minute "Cobra" that could have been sliced up into at least three or four tracks by itself. But, that's the thing with this band. They are very creative. Therefore they will follow their many muses down long winding paths that can lead to weird places; some incredibly beautiful, others weird, but they always manage to make it interesting. That goes for track 5, "Holy" where James voice switches from reverb and non-reverb, I guess, just for the experimental fun of it all. If you're interested in that kind of weird experimental stuff then this album is for you. Because there is not only weird stuff but there's also some of the most beautiful tracks they have ever recorded (a major feat with this group). Two tracks that standout are "sooner" and "sweetheart." The former being a crowd favorite at concerts and for good reason. It's a slower song where James lyrical and prodigious singing ability are on fine showcase. It's not really a groundbreaking song musically with the same three chords played over again. But, the combination of a pretty spanish-sounding guitar riff, gorgeous pedal steel guitar, and James resonating high tenor laced with reverb that make the song unforgettable. When you think that a pretty slow song couldn't be topped on one short ep, James offers "Sweetheart" as the closer and what a closer it is. A singer such as James who has been in this game for so long knows his own talents and he knows how to use them to create chills down your spine. That's what he does on "Sweetheart." It combines a pretty little piano riff, bongos for percussion, a nice little guitar solo in the middle that builds the drama, and the best harmonizing since the beach boys. As to why this song isn't played in concert more often, I've know idea. One of my favorite and one of the most romantic songs the Jacket has done. The line "sweetheart, lover, I wanted you before, but when the heart beats next to me I want it even more" is unexpectedly disarming. Did I mention James manages to somehow sound like Alice in Chains with his harmonizing on this one? I would say that the "good songs" on this one are tracks 1,2, the first song in track 3, and track 6. Buy this if you're interested in the Jacket's experimental stuff. But, a better bet would be the "Sweetbees" import from Australia. It has the two best tracks I mentioned above, and a slew of other brilliant tracks from other albums.

Chocolate and Ice is called an EP, as it has 6 songs, but it clocks it at 40 mins. So, it plays like an album. It pulls you right in with reverb drenched vocals and heartfelt, intriguing lyrics with a sweeter than molasses vocal. These songs are so good that you want to keep the CD on repeat mode. It's hard to pick favorites, though the 24 minute epic, "Cobra" has to be one of them.

A bit the samr asother releases. But Good if you just want something in the backgrougnd that you don't have to pay attention to.

This is another example of how nice some of the My Morning Jacket LPs are. It is a swirled brown and yellow heavy LP with almost 40 mins of moving music by one of the greatest bands out there.