Pete Yorn - musicforthemorningafter (25th Anniversary Edition) (2001/2026) [Official Digital Download 24/48]

Happy 25th Anniversary to Pete Yorn’s debut album musicforthemorningafter, originally released March 27, 2001. Pete Yorn’s seminal record musicforthemorningafter was an auspicious debut for the artist when it was released in 2001, ushering in a new era for introspective, acoustic-based singer/songwriters.

"with morningafter, Yorn has crafted a set of songs designed to stand the scrutiny of one listen after another."

Pete Yorn started out as a drummer, a trade he continues to practice here in addition to playing most of the album's other instruments. But Yorn seems to have been born into singer-songwriterdom, excelling at both halves of the equation. With a voice capable of both the fragility of Josh Rouse and the depth of Jay Farrar, he would probably command attention if he were reciting a list of Canadian prime ministers. Yorn's songwriting skills give him considerably more interesting material, however, with lyrics tinged with darkness set to ingratiating melodies and sophisticated, compelling arrangements. His debut starts about as well as an album can, with "Condition" joined by the tremendously evocative "Life On A Chain," "Just Another," and "For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is)." If the album doesn't quite sustain that momentum, it still offers its share of interesting material. Perhaps just as importantly, it spotlights an artist who shows no signs of running out of ideas or inspiration. A striking debut, musicforthemorningafter plays like the first chapter of a long and exciting career.

A New Jersey native equally indebted to Bruce Springsteen’s blue-collar introspection and Lou Reed’s deadpan stream-of-consciousness, Yorn first broke out in 2001 with his extraordinary Columbia Records debut, Musicforthemorningafter. Hailed by NPR as one the year’s finest, the album garnered RIAA Platinum certification on the strength of its universal acclaim as well as Yorn’s relentless appetite for the road. Rolling Stone praised it as “atmospheric, gently lit by sunlight and regret,” while The Guardian called it “sublime,” and The AV Club deemed it “the first chapter in a long and exciting career.” In the decades that followed, Yorn would go on to solidify his status as a songwriters’ songwriter, releasing nine more critically-acclaimed solo albums and collaborating in the studio with everyone from Frank Black and Peter Buck to Liz Phair and Scarlett Johansson (Yorn and Johansson’s joint 2009 release, ‘Break Up,’ went Platinum in France). With a voice Consequence of Sound described as “ruined and forlorn,” Yorn earned performances on Letterman, Fallon, Kimmel, Ellen, and more, as well dates with artists as varied as R.E.M., Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, and The Chicks, and festival slots from Coachella and Bonnaroo to Glastonbury and Austin City Limits.

Tracklist
01. Life On a Chain (3:47)
02. Strange Condition (3:57)
03. Just Another (3:14)
04. Black (4:11)
05. Lose You (4:37)
06. For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is) (3:28)
07. Murray (3:46)
08. June (2:34)
09. Sense (3:54)
10. Closet (3:04)
11. On Your Side (5:03)
12. Sleep Better (4:30)
13. EZ (4:42)
14. Simonize (2:55)
15. A Girl Like You (Silent Intro Version) (2:19)
16. Real Good Love (Live at Third Man Records) (3:05)
17. Life On a Chain (Live at Third Man Records) (4:36)
18. Someday, Someday (Live at Third Man Records) (3:17)
19. ECT (Live at Third Man Records) (3:44)
20. Different Roads (Live at Third Man Records) (3:43)
21. Turn of the Century (Live at Third Man Records) (3:51)
22. Don't Keep Me Waiting (Live at Third Man Records) (4:27)
23. The Man (Live at Third Man Records) (3:39)
24. The Hard Way (Live at Third Man Records) (4:20)
25. For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is) (Live at Third Man Records) (3:51)