My Morning Jacket’s At Dawn/Tennessee Fire Demos is a combination of rarities and demos from their first two albums. Bowing to the coos and calls from MMJ fans, record label Darla releases the 20 track album full of flowing alt-country and under produced psychedelic gems.
It opens with a flute solo that is pleasantly calming and makes you feel like you should be wake and baking while being dressed by cartoon woodland creatures. The low-fi quality of the album showcases Jim James’ mellow vocals for the most part, which sound like a hybrid of Dylan and Thom Yorke.
The Dylan factor is reinforced with harmonicas blowin’ in the wind on "Just Because I Do". The crisp acoustics of "The Way That He Sings" come off as a good ‘ol campfire songs for Gen-Y. Although James’ vocals are hollowly rich and haunting, certain notes he manages to hit come off as a bit piercing and pestering. Some tracks, like "Lead Me Father", have the listener transplanted to the churches of the south; thanks, but no thanks, although the concern is appreciated.
Low points include "At Dawn" ‚Äì while the guitar is strummed nicely, the vocals are so incredibly fuzzy they’re almost incomprehensible. It sounds as if the studio wasn’t available and James’ shower or empty swimming hole stood in that day. While not a radio-ready masterpiece, it is after all a demo disc, the lyrics are insightful and the melodies are elastic. Every now and then high pitched guitar plucks are added in and they work well with the songs as a whole.
The live tracks that round out the CD, which include a snippet of a cover of Heart’s "The Magic Man", make the listen worth while. They diverge away from the sophomoric sound to deliver jam band style hymns that force you nod along. Die hard MMJ fans will be impressed while new found listeners might get depressed, until they're near the edge.
