The English rock group James may have been dormant during most of the 2000s, but they have now emerged from the recording studio, hoping to recapture their success of the early ’90s. This September, the six-piece will release The Morning After the Night Before, two decidedly different albums packaged together for their American fans.
Confusing indeed, but James is no stranger to the dual-disc concept. After working with Brian Eno in 1993, James released the critically acclaimed Laid and the more experimental Wah Wah. Following the same formula, which resulted in singles “Laid” and “Out to Get”, the group’s 2009-2010 efforts in the studio led to two separate mini-albums: The Night Before and The Morning After.
For The Night Before, the band used a highly unorthodox recording process. Step 1: Create ftp website. Step 2: Each member independently creates, downloads, uploads, and edits content. Step 3: Long-time collaborative producer Muddy Baker knocks things into shape. Step 4: Release in the UK in April 2010.
After experiencing the flaws with the above process, James wanted to create material using a much more organic approach. After returning from their UK tour in early 2010, all of the members spent five days in a large recording room to track “something spontaneous” with no overdubs or heavy post-production. The result, The Morning After, is eight tracks that stretch James’ musical envelope to its breaking point.
The albums will be released in tandem as The Morning After The Night Before on September 14th via UMe. Given that the UK could have purchased The Night Before as a single disc, our friends across the pond will be able to purchase The Morning After in September as well. Take a look at the tracklisting below; it helps clarify the information.
In support of the release, James will be embarking on an 18-date U.S. tour with special guest Ed Harcourt. The tour kicks off in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, stretches through the North, and wraps in Los Angeles, CA, on October 13th at the Music Box Theater. Tickets for a majority of the dates go on sale Friday, July 16th at Ticketmaster. A complete list of tour dates follows the tracklist below.
The Morning After the Night Before Tracklist:
Disc 1 - The Morning After
01. Got The Shakes
02. Dust Motes
03. Tell Her I Said So
04. Kaleidoscope
05. Rabbit Hole
06. Make For This City
07. Lookaway
08. Fear
Disc 2 - The Night Before
01. It’s Hot
02. Crazy
03. Ten Below
04. Porcupine
05. Shine
06. Dr. Hellier
07. Hero
James 2010 Tour Dates:
09/20 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ The Culture Room *
09/21 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues *
09/22 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
09/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero *
09/25 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
09/27 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club *
09/28 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
09/30 – Toronto, CA @ Queen Elizabeth Theater *
10/01 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Theater *
10/02 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater *
10/04 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre *
10/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex *
10/07 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
10/08 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Room *
10/09 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox At The Market *
10/11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency *
10/12 – Anaheim, CA @ House Of Blues *
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Music Box *
* = w / Ed Harcourt
