Yim Yames
Tribute To EP
Rating: 4.0/5.0
ATO
Covers albums are tricky because of their very nature; one artist tries to transform someone else's poetry into their own emotions. EPs are tricky because of their length; more than a single, less than a full length, could they have space enough to say anything of significance? Doubly refreshing, then, is Yim Yames's (the peculiar pseudonym of My Morning Jacket's Jim James) new Tribute To EP, a six-track selection of George Harrison songs. Drawing from the Beatles albums Revolver and the officially eponymous White Album but mostly from Harrison's solo debut, All Things Must Pass, Yames/James treats each track with a stunning combination of reverence and nakedness.
Leading off with "Long, Long, Long," Tribute To sounds stark and quiet, almost like a home-recording. Dominated by acoustic guitars and Yames' keening voice, the entire EP displays the yearning, open emotion that made Harrison such a great songwriter. John may have had the cleverness and Paul, the hooks but George immersed his soul into songs as complete as anyone ever has. "Long, Long, Long" is a faithful rendition, Yames's voice smothered in reverb and double tracked for even higher, piercing backing vocals. The following "Behind That Locked Door" opens with an echoing count-off, reinforcing the homemade sweetness of the recordings. Continuing in much the same vein, it's a gentle treatment.
The following "Love You To" steps in a new direction- replacing the sitar with a plucked banjo, there's a sense of ominousness and mystery that perfectly suits the track. Yames builds to a falsetto howl just as the banjo hits a deceptively simple solo, leaving at least this midnight listener in a daze. "My Sweet Lord," the most litigious of Harrison songs, benefits from the restrained strumming and a straightforward vocal; of all the songs, it's probably the least changed and the least changeable. The penultimate "Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" introduces minimal pianos into the mix, sounding like a demo of the original, lush Spector production but as Yames reaches the rural heights of "Through ye woode, here may ye rest awhile/ Handkerchiefs to match your tie/ Let it roll," it's nearly as transcendent.
The final track, the immortal "All Things Must Pass," uses the same piano and acoustic guitars formula, albeit dominated by the latter. Some people might think of this EP as something tossed up, an indulgence of sorts and certainly Yames doesn't add anything to Harrison's masterpiece. Though with a song like that, what could he? Instead, the singer did the smart thing and took away everything but the sheer human emotion and quiet spirituality that hangs in every note.
by Nathan Kamal