Radio Sweethearts

I’ve been sitting on this one for a while. It pains me to say this, because - really - I love them, but I think My Morning Jacket is overrated

Not that they’re bad. But I just bought the new record, “Evil Urges,” and - well - it’s not bad, but I’m beginning to think that they aren’t the band I thought they were after “It Still Moves.”

Bob Boilen seems to still think that they’re still that band, even with the weird Prince vocals and flourishes on “Evil Urges” (not to mention the song that sounds like the theme from “Taxi,” starring a young Tony Danza). Another thing Boilen thinks is that this performance by My Morning Jacket frontman, Jim James, is:

One of the most remarkable (and certainly the most memorable) shows I’ve seen this year […] a stunning, solo acoustic performance at St. Davids Episcopal Church in Austin, TX.

It’s okay, I guess. The sound is good; the audience is receptive. The older songs are performed with the same vigor (and reverb) that made the band great in the first place. The newer stuff (which is maybe about Jesus, except the one about doin’ a librarian) is played with maybe more passion than it deserves.

I don’t mind giving the new stuff more credit than it’s earned. It makes this recording more fun to listent to than “Evil Urges,” which has just turned into a load of work, making it difficult for me to decide if I like it.*

But this? This is digression. The point is that Bob Boilen mislead me. He told me that this was “a stunning, solo acoustic performance.” So who’s that singing harmony? Playing lap steel? Never mind that I only thought it was a good performance - but when did “solo” stop meaning “alone?”

And could somebody answer this question, please: what kind of acoustic instrument was Jim James playing that sounded like a Casiotone keyboard? I like the sound of the electric Casiotones, but I just want to save on my electric bill, you know?

I just feel cheated by the copy on the Web site, is all. Boilen isn’t all bad, though. He did end the “Sound of a Generation” episode of “All Songs Considered” by talking about how the current generation of artists more conciously references the previous ones, and backed it up by playing Okkervil River’s “Plus Ones.”

Which, Mr. Bob Boilen, is well played. Well played indeed.

*For the record, many of my favorite records took me a few listens. Most of them, actually. I wasn’t crazy about Andrew Bird at first. Or Okkervil River. Two best records last year.