Evil Urges

I love all of MMJ's old stuff just as much as any other fan, and I have to say I love this album too. No one wants a band that keeps making the same stuff over and over. Sure, "It Still Moves" is their best album, but "Evil Urges" is still great. Come on, how can you not love "Highly Suspicious"?

Evil Urges (2008, Red) My Morning Jacket's fifth studio album. ***

This review hurts to write, mainly because My Morning Jacket has received a vast amount of critical praise this year, the leaders of that movement being Rolling Stone. Even recently they gave the album four stars, their symbol (as well as mine) for excellence. Unfortunately, I did not find the album to be so, instead I found it to be good, because I was honetly bored through a good deal of it.

I've heard My Morning Jacket before, and I have to say they may be the biggest waste of talent around right now. They delve more and more into their experimental side as their albums progress; 2005's Z marked a turning point from the band with its soul and funk concoctions. And on Evil Urges it goes even further, with the first three songs being a whirlwind of experimental rock. The title track shows Jim James busting falsetto like no one's business, as the song shifts from electronica-funk with a killer bassline to Yes prog rock. Then there's the unorthodox "Highly Suspicious," a Prince-delivered hard-rock song similar to something Nick Cave might try. All of the beginning is wonderfully strange and fresh, with music impossible to define: is it hard pop? Progressive alternative? Rush meets Prince meets Pink Floyd? But the attraction is lost when it slides into the country/southern rock stylings that eat up the majority of the album. Simply put, those cuts are dry, uneventful, and downright boring. It's a shame that this happened, because an entire album full of songs like "Evil Urges" would blow me away. Oh, and the cover art sucks, too.

-Stephen
www.politicianrock.blogspot.com

I love MMJ. Love them. But this album confuses me. Is this the difficult transition album? I thought perhaps Z had accomplished what is nearly impossible-- a shift in sound and thinking with the strength to carry most fans along. This album is the complete opposite. It's ill-conceived, schizophrenic and lyrically dull. "Hard and Suspicious" belongs on the Dr. Demento show. If it's a joke, it belongs as a b-side. If it's serious, well...

As others have noted, "I'm Amazed" nearly saves the album single- handedly. A beautiful song and one of their best. But there's just not enough here. Too many retreads of past riffs, terrible lyrics (terrible!) and too many (poorly) emulated styles.

I'll still buy the next album, but buyer beware on this one.

Evil Urges is not quite the masterpiece that "Z" was but by no means it is a bad MMJ album. It's quite funky and they do try different things here, though not as sonically diverse as "Z" it is a good album overall, lots of new stuff and then a return to their southern roots.

I always liked "Z" but this CD just puts me In a new world.
I've bought 3 more MMJ CD's and none are as good TO ME as the new "Evil Urges" This will be one of my favorite CD's of all time and I don't take time to write reviews (Only Twice Ever)!! Mark S In Syracuse NY
PS The track "I'm Amazed" Is one of the best song's of the year.