Tribute To

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Total Tracks: 6   Total Length: 26:42

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Andy Beta

eMusic Contributor

Andy Beta has written about music and comedy for the Wall Street Journal, the disco revival for the Village Voice, animatronic bands for SPIN, Thai pop for the ...more »

08.03.09
Jim James' unfettered musical communiqué with the Beatles' George Harrison
Label: ATO Records

Great artists are not bound by time; their dialogues can unfold over decades or centuries, the work continuing beyond graves or other man-made conceits. Take Patti Smith's artistic communiqué with Baudelaire, André Breton's with the deceased Comte de Lautréamont, or LA artist Robert Irwin's harkening back to the work of Italian still life painter Giorgio Morandi.

We can now hear that same communication between My Morning Jacket's Jim James (here as Yim Yames) and the Beatles 'lead guitarist (and dark horse songwriter) George Harrison. Put down to four-track in the days following Harrison's passing from cancer in November of 2001, James never had the chance to meet his idol, but within seconds of hearing his lonesome take on "Long Long Long," the reverence (and cavernous reverb) that the man and his band has for Harrison is undeniable.

The album's liners by James state as much referring to Harrison's music as "a prime example of the healing power of music" and in just six songs, he evokes and taps into that power. Be it his banjo-driven take of "Love You To" to the piano that garlands "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)," James allows his heart to… read more »

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Say yes to Yim!

Tebi

Jim James' voice has the power to cut through just about anything. That's especially true when he's channeling George Harrison.

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Eary!!!!

kuhntownkid

It sounds like George Harrison sucking helium and singing while on quaaludes. But; oddly, I enjoyed this!

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It's Okay

theenddecay

Let's be honest - it's just an album of covers of the same artist. If this was a full Yim Yames album with original material, I would probably rate it higher. For what it is, it's good but you don't really need it unless you're a completist or die hard fan of the original songs and want to hear the lead singer from My Morning Jacket sing them. My favorite cover on the album is "Love You To."

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Behind That Locked Door...

TerrapinFlyer

Have had this unbelievably good cover for a few years now and played it way too much. It's scary good! I didn't realize Jim James had a few other covers from my favorite (by far!) Beatle and good to see them now all available. Go check out MMJ's cover of Dylan's "Goin' To Acapulco" from I'm Not There soundtrack...you'll cry!

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Yim Yawns

harryrag

Yim takes Georges slower numbers and slows them to a slumber without any sizzle. Sorry but this snoozefest shoulda stayed in bed.

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Interesting

magunky

An interesting take on George Harrison songs but this is unlikely to be an album you'll go back to for many repeated listens...nice but not catchy.

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shows the difference between a cover and a tribute

B_Alice

On this EP, Jim James doesn't just cover GH but connects with the legacy of a legendary lead guitar. Adding the classic keening MMJ sound makes it one for the fans.

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Review by jackallday

jackallday

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James alters the spelling of his first and last names then quietly proceeds to present his take on some of "The Quiet Beatle's" best work. The result is an ethereal blending of voice and guitar. Yames' passion for the music shines on this remarkable extended EP.

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good album, great organization.

seagelinc

If the music isn't enough to get you to download, maybe knowing that the proceeds go to Woodstock Animal Sanctuary will seal the deal. I know it did with me. Plus, this album brings me back to the early, sparse sound of MMJ.

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They Say All Media Guide

George Harrison may not have influenced My Morning Jacket’s knotty, psychedelic Americana as much as other songwriters, but his spirituality did find its way into the band’s work, from the catharsis of At Dawn to the Biblical metaphors in “Gideon.” Appropriately, Jim James makes his solo debut with a collection of Harrison songs, using little more than his vocals and acoustic guitar to re-create the source material. This is a quiet, scaled-down affair, with no traces of Phil Spector’s lush orchestrations or Harrison’s infamous slide guitar. Instead, James wraps himself in reverb — a nod to the echoing production of All Things Must Pass, perhaps, but also a reminder that this EP was recorded in 2001, the same year that spawned the reverb-heavy At Dawn — and multi-tracks his own voice into towers of fragile harmonies. “My Sweet Lord,” once a communal hymn, is stripped of its choral arrangement and turned into a solitary prayer, while the Beatles’ “Love You To” leaves its Indian homeland in favor of the swampy American backwoods. Tribute To remains reverent despite those unique touches, however, and Jim James (or Yim Yames, or whatever he’s calling himself nowadays) sounds fairly fantastic throughout. [An LP/CD version of the EP was also released.] – Andrew Leahey

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