Well, folks, this is my first time doing this, so take my words with a grain of salt. I'm not going to get too technical today. In truth, my 'technical' knowledge is watered down from 10 years of not writing a music piece or being involved in a recording studio (hello, Fairhaven - hey, is Kevin still there?), and quite a while since picking up my guitar or playing my Lowrey organ. So, I'll just say that right now my No. 1 band is My Morning Jacket.
MMJ brought back the theory of a 'guitar band' to rock and roll. Led Zeppelin comparisons are thrown around far too generously, but they have to be mentioned as brethren due to shared song construction and eclecticism. Their 2005 record 'Z' is to be considered an 'indie must-have' and currently holds down my No. 2 spot for albums made in the 2000s - first is Beachwood Sparks' 'Once We Were Trees,' but I'll comment on that later.
Lately, 'Lay Low' has been the song that I look most forward to hearing, and I hear it in different ways just about everytime I hear it. How so? Archive.org's Live Music Archive has a huge store of live MMJ from over the years, but their shows from 2005-2007 are epics. Each one is like an aural journey through some record snob's prized collection. You can hear the aforementioned Zep in there, Hank Williams, AC/DC, Pearl Jam ... you know what? Forget all those guys, they've just got their own thing going right now, and I pray that this new 2008 album they're supposedly recording isn't a let-down.
'Lay Low' - Patrick Hallahan starts in with this seemingly random Pollock-type splattering of bass drum, battered hi-hat and a snare drum figure that's not sure if it's in the right song yet. Once you get the idea of this beat that'll hang around through the verses, you're almost expecting to hear a Beastie Boys rock-rap type song. No, instead Carl Broemel introduces a riff that draws you in by adding different forms in each measure. When singer/guitarist Jim James' words stroll in like the Fonz, you're almost surprised that you are officially 'in the song' - it's not just an intro anymore. This is it. That's really just half-true - it's like you're on the porch of a great house, though.
When bassist Two-Tone Tommy and keyboardist Bo Koster show up in the song with their contributions, it's like that house has a rager of a party and two friends of the host have showed up and you're walking in with them.
The chorus is introduced and you're in a more 'comfortable' 4/4-type rock feel, and noticing the unmasked 'Let's Get it On'-ness of James' lyrics, the type of thing you want to whisper to your girl after a hard day of work: 'Lay low if the feeling is right, I got all i want here in you tonight, and we can pass out on the bedroom floor after going full tilt for so long.'
Then you're back in the verses and what originally seemed strange in a friendly way now feels like an old buddy. The verse, with Koster's ascending triplet, is a feel-good time. It pumps you up, just as you're ready to enter the happening den room of the house party, where everybody's psyched to see YOU, not knowing there's a hurricane that's just popped up ready to tear the roof off the sucker.
James lets out a few howls coming out of the second chorus to let you know this is where he gets serious, and, like turning up a stereo really loud just to hear a guitar solo you want to absorb, James spits out some classic face-melters (as Jack Black so eloquently called 'em in 'School of Rock') from his Flying V. It seems like it's just some random shredding, but it quickly collects itself into the final theme of the song, which is a twin-guitar assault bringing to mind the end of 'Hotel California' as rewritten by Randy Rhoads. Jumping into the fray near the end is Koster's piano, which recollects the harmony of the solo platform saying to the guitarists 'Hey, this is where you were, don't forget your roots.'
Or something like that - go over to archive.org, hit on the Live Music Archive button and search for 'Lay Low' and see what you think. And buy Z.
Lay Low and Dondante - which I consider MMJ's answer to 'Since I've Been Lovin' You' - are guitar epics for THIS generation. And, while we're on the subject, 'What a Wonderful Man' is the most fun 2-minutes-and-change since 'We Will Rock You.' There, I said it.
More, later...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment