I'm was fairly amazed with last year's Badly Drawn Boy, Travis, and Coldplay album's. This year, Radiohead came back with a beautiful sleeper that will go down as one of the better albums of this decade... and now for the next great album!

Pete Yorn has somehow crafted a dramatically wistful piece of rock entertainment that has a balanced mix of rock, pop, and insightful lyrics that can quite possibly be compared to a blend of Bob Dylan and the Beatles. I don't want to sound overdramatic about this guy, but I see great things ahead for him. This album struck me! It struck me!

Take a few listens. Feel the songs, the melodies. Hear what Pete has to say. This album may not have a breakout hit. Maybe it won't be as huge as it should be. That's OK! Buy it! Listen to it! Tell your friends! They'll have new respect for you.


Pure Pop   February 8, 2003
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

It's not accurate to loop together Pete Yorn and John Mayer. I own both of their "debut" albums. Here's the difference: on my grouchiest days, I find myself cutting out nearly all of Mayer's tracks, but Yorn on his worst day never drops below the jeweled quintet of "Strange Condition," "Black," "Just Another," "On Your Side," and "Sleep Better."

Where the heck did this guy come from? I heard his catchy Smithereens-like "Strange Condition" on a Boston alt-rock station, liked it, got over my distrust of all the pretty-boy-rockstar photos on the CD, and bought it used...and suddenly "Strange Condition" was only my fifth and sometimes sixth favorite song on this knockout debut album.

Folks, this guy makes pared-down rhythm-guitar-driven rock'n'roll ditties, or lushly melodic entrancing pop stuff. The key thing here is catchy melodies and irresistible hooks. The guy's voice is rough & quirky & confident and plays off perfectly against the melodic ear candy. It's completely buy-able. I keep thinking of who to compare him with, and it bodes well for Yorn's career, cuz he doesn't really sound like somebody's echo.

Oh, on track 14, the quirky "Simonize" goes silent at 2:50, but if you let it run and wait till 4:30, there's another little pop chestnut ("Girl Like You"...?).


AN AMAZING RELEASE FROM A FRESH NEW ARTIST!!   March 28, 2001
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

I first heard "Strange Condition" about 2 years ago and was instantly hooked to Pete Yorn. I've had the advance cd of "musicforthemorningafter" for a few months and it's one of the best cd's I've heard in a long time. With so much fluff cluttering the music racks these days, it was nice to have a CD that I didn't have to skip over every other song. Yorn's voice is reminiscent of J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. with a touch of Dylan. He's got an amazing debut on his hands and I hope he gets his due respect for his talent. There's just something about this CD that you can come back to so often and just go "this is pretty damn neat." Check it out for yourself.


All Songs Written By Pete Yorn...   October 12, 2001
R. Gorham
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

After fumbling thru countless CD's at Circuit City and not having any of them spark my interest... I went over to the listening table and put on the headphones and saw this "musicforthemorningafter" disc. Right away I thought it was Aerosmith's Joe Perry younger brother. I punched in the 1st tune "Life On A Chain" and thought, "It ain't hard rock, but it was definitely interesting... and good." I listened to most of the songs there at the store and then bought it. Now, one week later, I can say that this CD has not left the CD player in my car. Pete Yorn is the same as every other Dave Matthews or Wallflowers wannabe, but somehow indescribably different. Product & sound are good, his Bob Dylanesque stories are great, his technique is professional & polished (like maybe it's his 3rd or 4th CD). AND, he plays most of the instruments himself (electric & acoustic guitars, drums, bass, piano, handclaps & voice). Several of the songs are upbeat... I like the stuff that's made it to the radio here in the desert, "Life On A Chain", "Strange Condition" and "For Nancy". But, also check out "Black" and "On Your Side". There are several downers here as well... singing about relationships & breaking up, and most noticeably loneliness. Yorn emits a cool persona (even if he is from New Jersey... just kidding) and his off the beaten path tempo's are a joy to listen to. Thank you Pete Yorn & band for your work & perspiration.


Ok, I'm hooked...   May 4, 2001
Brett J. Valjalo (Walnut Creek, CA United States)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Where to start on this brilliant album?

First off, one of the coolest things about it is that it sounds like Pete owns about the same collection of CD's that I do. That's just a personal thing, though.

More importantly, the way he expertly blends a lot of obvious (to me) influences is amazing. The Replacements ("Murray" and "Black" both sound like songs Paul would've written with pride), Pavement (definite Stephen vocals on some tunes), The Cure (the feel of most of the guitar solo's and the song On Your Side are pure Robert), and Dinosaur Jr (some serious J Mascis vocal inflections throughout- though Pete is a MUCH better singer) are the first that come to mind, but there are just so many others. You may have a lot of fun playing spot-the-influence as well.

Despite this, he does manage to avoid sounding derivative (this is no alt.nostalgia act, believe me) - mostly due to the sheer variety of alt/classic rock sounds/songs: a single song will remind you of like 5 different artists. When you can do this (so well) as an artist ... I call it making fresh music, since there is no way you can do something completely UNdone at this point in Rawk History.

Considering that he wrote all the songs (music and lyrics), plays drums, bass, guitar, and sings ... and produces, and engineers and ... you name it, he's obviously a studio and a musical wiz kid - not quite Prince (is that his name now?), but, you get what I'm talking about. As an aspiring musician myself, I must say I am extremely humbled by what Pete has accomplished on his debut.

This is the rare album you can totally get into listening to, and pondering, all alone in your room or car ... or you can crank it up at a party and have everyone totally grooving and asking you "Who is this? I love it!". If you are a fan of rock, pretty much any kind of rock but esp. alternative circa 1990, you can't go wrong with this disc. My favorite debut since Grace by Jeff Buckley (r.i.p. Jeff you will always be the MAN!), this one rocks with feeling, conviction, sublety and power. Most importantly, not one single song sucks, though some are a little slow toward the end. Wish he'd have included Rooftop instead of, say, EZ, but that's a minor complaint...

So anyway, Rock On, Pete! I WILL be at your next gig in the Bay Area. Everyone else, do yourself a favor and GET THIS DISC!

And as The Cure once said: "This music on this disc has been mixed to be played loud, so TURN IT UP!"