Jim James - Tribute To 2

The Guardian 80

(ATO Records)

My Morning Jacket, the Kentucky rock band Jim James has fronted since 1998, are known for their line in eclectic cover versions, having paid homage to everything from Erykah Badu’s Tyrone to Elton John’s Rocket Man. As if to cement his dedication to the art, James’s first move as a solo artist was to release Tribute To, an EP of George Harrison covers.

It’s successor stays largely in that 60s/70s milieu, and includes a gorgeous, minimalist version of the Beach Boys’ I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times, and a bizarrely sloppy (albeit quite amusing) cover of Dylan’s I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, which James sings as though he has a mouthful of marbles. But there are curveballs too, two tracks by “Britain’s first pop star” Al Bowlly among them. On these, James retains the 30s plinky-plonk piano but replaces Bowlly’s particular croon with something a little more off the wall. It turns what can initially seem like a predictable homage to sunny and smooth 60s rock into a compelling and inventive deep dive into pop’s past.

Drowned In Sound 70

Comprised of work from various sessions that span a period of years, James says of Tribute To 2: 'These are some of my favourite covers – songs I recorded trying to bring myself peace during a rough time or trying to make myself laugh or just have fun.'

'So often, many of us just feel like we don’t fit in, like somehow we were dropped into the wrong life at the wrong time,' states James of the Beach Boys classic. 'This song has such a beautiful way of resonating with that energy and relating to the pain of life on earth, but also offering hope and comfort in the beautiful sounds of togetherness.'

In recording these songs as a means of comfort to himself, James has produced a work that is both comfortable and comforting in the best possible way. Its interpretations include Sonny & Cher (a sweet, subtle rendition of ‘Baby Don’t Go’), The Orioles (an acoustic shuffle through ‘Crying in the Chapel’) and Bob Dylan (a loping, countrified ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight’). Ray Noble & Al Bowlly standards ‘Love Is the Sweetest Thing’ and ‘Midnight, the Stars and You’ sound suitably beamed in from another time, their simple arrangements giving the melodies ample room to shine, and ‘The World Is Falling Down’ by Abbey Lincoln is a quietly restorative thing of beauty, James’s falsetto taking centre-stage.

A song by little-known, late Chicagoan singer-songwriter Diane Izzo makes for an undoubted highlight. ‘Wild Honey’ is breezy and melancholy all at once; a stirring tribute to an artist similarly feted by Jeff Tweedy, whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 43, and who, one hopes, might gain some new listeners as a result of featuring here.

While its predecessor was a deeply-felt farewell to George Harrison, there isn’t much of a through-line on Tribute To 2 save James’s angelic, worn-in voice and the reverence he clearly holds for the artists covered. That in itself graces the collection a sense of cohesiveness that belies its odds-and-ends genesis, and the result is a warm, fuzzy embrace of an album; a release that will delight fans of James’s work as a solo artist and bandleader of My Morning Jacket, and likely anyone else who happens upon it.

Pitchfork 62

On a sequel to 2009’s covers collection Tribute To, the My Morning Jacket singer imbues a set of classics and standards with a distinctly contemporary melancholy.

The Guardian 60

(Ato)

Cosmic rockers My Morning Jacket aren’t the force of old but, as this album of cover versions shows, their frontman’s voice remains a potent instrument. From the Beach Boys’ I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times to Elvis Presley’s Crying in the Chapel, these are songs brimming with anguish and regret, qualities that lend themselves to James’s supple tones. Occasionally, particularly on the standards, he tries too hard to make the track his own, adding unnecessary howls and flourishes. For the most part, though, these spare reworkings are dramatic and wonderfully arranged. The highlight is Abbey Lincoln’s The World Is Falling Down, a bewitching snapshot of society in meltdown.