Okonokos
ATO
2006
Rating: 7.5 suburban hippies out of 10
The live album was a staple of the seventies – “At Buddokan” made Cheap Trick a household name in the U.S.; Peter Frampton produced many classic rock radio staples from his “Frampton Comes Alive” double LP; and Kiss went from being just popular to super-duper-mega-superstars after the release of their “Alive” album. But it’s been a long time since live albums really mattered – more often than not, they are just attempts by labels to make some easy money off of fans eager to hear some new material by their favorite artists. Only three records come to mind that have come out over the last few years that have been worth a damn – Built to Spill’s “Live”, Wilco’s “Kicking Television”, and DJ Shadow’s “Live! In Tune and on Time”.
Now My Morning Jacket have a fourth entry to add to that short list in the form of this double-disc of live awesomeness called “Okonokos”. Having seen this band perform live a number of times and telling everyone who will listen they MUST go see this band, I now have a document to point towards that is a pretty damn accurate representation of all of the great times I’ve had at their concerts. The only thing missing from the home experience is the sight of Jim James and the rest of the group thrashing around on stage with their hair in their face. The songs on this release run the gamut of their output, but falls a little heavier towards the more recent songs as is usually the case with any band’s live album. The sound here is perfect, almost too good really – I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this live album actually sounds better than the live show itself, it’s mixed so well. For any fan of the band, this is a must have; and for those new to the game, consider this a primer, a greatest hits to get you started.
(2011 addendum: this was the last listenable record they made...the drop off after this was precipitous, and really makes me sad...)
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