In my last blog post, I talked about the 2009 cover album done by Jim James entitled, Tribute To. This project featured the charismatic frontman of My Morning Jacket taking a step back in order to look back at George Harrisons songs that have influenced him over the years while still putting his unique spin on such memorable tunes such as “My Sweet Lord.” Now in 2017, Jim James has decided to follow his highly experimental and highly political 2016 album, Eternally Even, with yet another cover album that offers some solace in a time of darkness.
Right off the bat, listeners will hear the apparent difference in the production quality of this album compared to his 2009 project. Most of the issues I personally had with James’ last cover album have been fixed, even the never-ending reverb and slow pacing of the album have been substituted with more condensed mixes and a wider variety of genres. If anything, this album is really the result of Jim James approaching this collection of Willie Nelson, Beach Boys, and Cher covers with the same mentality and musical prowess of his previous album.
The end result? a surprisingly powerful album that could honestly pass as an original piece of work that shows a change of pace for a musician who wants to make his message clear. On the title track “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times,” James’ voice is smooth, clear, and haunting all at the same time. It creates a powerful effect that carries on through the rest of the album until the very last note of “Blue Skies.”
I could go on and on about the production choices for each song, but in all honesty, that’s not the main focus of the album. In retrospect, that wasn’t even the focus of the last cover album, but we can talk about that in the comments. What really drew me to this album was the fact that Jim James does an excellent job of highlighting the contrasting moods between the messages these songs conveyed during their release, and the moods they create now. In a world where it seems as though we are regressing in terms of equal rights and losing our connection to the physical world around us, Jim James reminds us to look back and learn from the past so that we don’t repeat our past mistakes. This might seem like an over-analyzation to some, but considering the context of Eternally Even and the events of 2017, it doesn’t really seem like that much of a stretch.
I took a little more time than usual with this album, and I’m glad I did. After about ten listens, I have decided to put give this album a “Great” ranking due to its high production quality, and amazing instrumentation / re-harmonization.
My favorite tracks:
What are your thoughts on this album? Do you think that Jim James will continue to get more political on his next solo albums?
Until next time,
Carver
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