Z

My Morning Jacket | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 4, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ato Records / Red
• ASIN: B0010VHXN0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,460 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Dream Pop

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Two years and a pair of band members have passed since My Morning Jacket's last album, and the respite seems to have reinvented the Louisville, Ky., band and its leader Jim James. Shelved are the boogie-soaked country and hard-stomping metal of the first three records--assuring that all links to Lynyrd Skynyrd are hereby obsolete--and the sleek maturation of James's wailing, echoing falsetto may have even nullified the Neil Young comparisons. Using the guitar as a complement more than as a weapon, songwriter James has simplified the sound where keyboards take the lead and choruses play like a '70s AM radio. While songs like "Anytime" and "What a Wonderful Man" channel the old MMJ sound, they do so with less chaos and more spontaneity. That's the trend for the record's best: "Wordless Chorus" and its infectious "aaaah" refrain, the Hawaii Five-O-riffed ska of "Off the Record" and a Stranglers-minded carnival waltz, "Into the Woods." Serving as a pop-music paradigm that change is good, Z is ambitious, groundbreaking and downright impeccable. --Scott Holter

Product Description

Japanese pressing of their 2005 album features one bonus track, 'Chills' which was previously available on the US Vinyl version of 'Z' and as a European B-side to the first single 'Off the Record'. While much of Z comes as a shock, even the surprises should seem perfectly natural in hindsight. The combination of the hushed, indie balladry of their early records with the spacious guitar rock of their last was to be expected, but My Morning Jacket's recent history all but demands the newer, more exotic rhythms and textures on Z, which makes it clear that this is a great band, doing great things who've been playing it safe until now. Z is an ambitious leap of faith into a new frontier where the old rules don't apply, and My Morning Jacket seem perfectly happy to write their own. 11 tracks in total. BMG. 2005. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Love the Band, Hate the Destructive Software in the CD, November 20, 2005

By 

M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Z (Audio CD)

It's painfully ironic that one of my favorote bands, so real and gritty and alternative to the mush that's out there, have a new CD deal with a company that puts secret software in it so that if you try to download the cd you ruin your computer. I hear that Sony started this type of software program. All consumers should be warned.

On to the music: Not my favorite album but still has a half dozen strong songs. The band has lost some of its members and I feel they're trying to find a new sound, one that doesn't have as strong identity as past releases.

Protect your computer and protest this dangerous type of CD; buy the songs individually on the Internet.

80 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars *Sony Music Sued Over Anti-Piracy Software*, November 13, 2005

By 

Gabriel M. Stinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Z (Audio CD)

This is a great cd, but sony's rootkit INFECTS YOUR COMPUTER WHEN YOU SCAN IT! Here's the scoop from pitchforkmedia.com

"Here's the crux of the suit, straight from the legal papers: "As a result of Sony's failure to disclose the true nature of the digital rights management (`DRM') system it uses on its CDs, thousands of computer users have unknowingly infected their computers, and the computers of others, with this surreptitious rootkit. This rootkit has been responsible for conflicts within computer systems, crashes of systems, and other damage."

The suit, which accuses Sony of "fraud, false advertising, trespass, and violation of state and federal statues prohibiting malware, and unauthorized computer tampering," claims that the suspect software has been included on certain Sony BMG Music CDs since this spring. Albums to watch out for include Amerie's Touch, My Morning Jacket's Z Kasabian's Kasabian, Neil Diamond's 12 Songs, Cassidy's I'm a Hustla, Kings of Leon's Aha Shake Heartbreak, and, appropriately, the Bad Plus' Suspicious Activity and the Coral's Invisible Invasion, among others.

In short: if you're about to load that new My Morning Jacket disc onto your hard drive, STOP. Sell the album back to the record store and buy something on Dischord."

76 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy it on iTunes, October 25, 2005

By 

GRT (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Z (Audio CD)

Whatever the merits of the music, I tossed this disk in the garbage. Why?

1. Upon insertion in the computer, requires you to agree to a contract that restricts usage to approved devices etc and inserts software on your hard drive to monitor usage.
2. After agreeing it launches a goofy proprietary application to play the music instead of a media player.
3. You cannot play the files in iTunes
4. You cannot rip the files to you computer
5. You cannot play the songs on you iPod.

This attemnpt to restrict legal usage of the music is outrageous and should be tolerated. Is the band aware of this? Do they support it? It is bad business, bad publicity and done in bad faith.