CoronaVinyl Day 110 (RS Greatest Albums 451-500): Z by My Morning Jacket

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Over the next ten days, we will be taking a stroll through Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time, in chunks of 50 at a time.  The list was first put out in 2003, and then updated in 2012.  Today, we're looking at albums ranked between 451 and 500 on the list.

In 2005, Louisville-based indie rock band My Morning Jacket put out their fourth studio album, Z, which was ranked #457 on the list.  The band had turned over its guitarist and keyboardist before the record was recorded, and with Z, they expanded their sound and experimented with different genres.  The results were pretty damn good.  The songs on Z range from the ethereal indie rock that I associate with My Morning Jacket ("Wordless Chorus," "It Beats 4U," "Gideon," "Dondante") to trippy pop songs ("Into the Woods," "Chills") to more rocking songs ("What a Wonderful Man," "Anytime," "Lay Low") to alt-country with an indie rock twist ("Know Comes Loose") to reggae ("Off the Record").

The version of the album I have was (I think) one of the selections I got when I was in the Vinyl Me, Please record club.  It is split into four sides -- with a bonus track, "Chills," on Side 4 -- and as you can see, the cover is an orangish hue, rather than blue on the actual album cover.  Also, the vinyl itself is a cool splatter that reminds me of Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme candy bar, which always invokes positive feelings.

The album was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2005, and its inclusion on superlative lists has grown over the years.  In addition to being #457 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was ranked by Pitchfork as the #146 album of the 2000s, ranked by Rolling Stone as the #31 album of the 2000s, and ranked by Rolling Stone as #23 on its list of greatest stoner albums ever (though I would say that it's more for the indica crowd than the sativa crowd).

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Gideon"

"Gideon" is a sprawling, orchestral song that builds throughout.  Lead singer Jim James stretches his vocals on this one (but not too far that he couldn't handle it).

Favorite song from Side 2:  "What a Wonderful Man"
It was a close call between "Off The Record" and "What a Wonderful Man," but I went with the latter.  This song is a catchy, uptempo rock song that just sounds so 2000s indie rock -- and I don't mean that pejoratively.  It's a great song with some nice fuzzed-out guitars.

Favorite song from Side 3:  "Anytime"
This is another rocking song, with some soulful vocals, nice organs, and solid guitars.

Favorite song from Side 4:  "Chills"
"Chills" is the bonus track on the album (that's not on the Spotify version of the album).  It was featured on the soundtrack to the TV show Heroes, and it's a nice, spacey pop song.