Jim James | Regions Of Light And Sound Of God Review

The musician Jim James is best known for his work with Kentucky based band My Morning Jacket, also he has been known to lend his unique vocal talent to another act, Monsters of Folk. Most recently though, James has released his first full length solo effort, ostentatiously titled Regions Of Light And Sound Of God. The album starts off with the track State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U) which is at first slowly sung by James while being accompanied by a simple piano progression, as the song continues the level of complexity increases to a satisfying finish.  As well, A New Life stands out as a memorable track due to its explosive Elvis Presley style finish, something that is not often heard even with the slew of reboot rock acts currently making music today.  All Is Forgiven is part jazz lounge song and part revival hymn, the result is darkly toned percussion driven track that leaves an impression.    

The thing that makes Jim James such an appreciated singer is his ability to create seemingly timeless music. There is just enough innovation on this album to call it something new, but it also illustrates this musician’s love and respect for classic rock and others that have come before him, it’s palpable, and you can hear it on every track on Regions Of Light And Sound Of God.  

Note: Back in 1992 the Beastie Boys released an album called Check Your Head and on this album there’s this song that just might have been one of the Beastie Boys miracles. It is not one of the most notable of the Beastie Boys catalogue; however its lyrics speak of a lad with a penchant for rockin’. This song’s lyrics are about a musician who is going to wake you up, send out love to all corners of the land and brings people together through musical harmony. The name of the track is Jimmy James and it describes a certain artist quite well, aside from the whole “Bass from the back of my car feels soothing. Eight bazookas is what I'm using…” this classic hip-hop song is pretty on the nose.  So, does this mean that the coming of Jimmy or Jim James was foretold by the Beastie Boys? 

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