Here is my compendium of the best cds released last year. I will be posting them, hopefully, daily.

10. My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges

Lead man Jim James long ago solidified his presence as one of the most recognizable and talented songwriters and voices in the alt-country genre. And, yes, the ska tinged, keyboard heavy experimentation of 05's Z was unexpected and refreshing, but his work on Evil Urges puts him the upper echelon of american singers of this era. Evil Urges sees him switching styles trackt to track with ease, drawing inspiration from legends of the past. "Highly Suspicious" sees James forgoing his tennessee twang for a wierd, psychotic Prince-like croon. "I'm Amazed" is a straight forward southern rocker that coulda been a lost track from Skynyrd. Very few could transition from James Taylor to Neil Young without losing the essence of their band like James does.

Evil Urges is a classic.