Four years ago, the Manchester band James was on permanent break-up and no one could have foreseen what the future held. In 2008, the made the best album of the year with Hey Ma and gave some of their utmost live performances of their career. Hey Ma proved to be a magnum opus no one expected as they balanced themselves against their self-indulgent alternative ways while embracing their inner sweet tooth. It's possibly the band's most absolute record and the reason for this is that it was the first to have the Seven line-up in tow. Instead of quarreling, they once again became a band and reinvented themselves. Too many acts try to grasp glimpses of their past, over think the artistic process and lose themselves. 2010 has found the release of dual EP's in Europe and a 2-CD album here in the US, The Morning After The Night Before. The dual disc set is a sublime collection of 15-songs. Eight of the songs showcase James' style for off-the-cuff recording while the latter seven features the band in full-on collaboration with songs capturing the Brit-Pop sound James is best known for. On their recent US tour, the band returned to the Vic Theatre in Chicago, where in 2008 they delivered a sprawling, sexual and spiritual performance that is among the very best this writer has seen by any act, anywhere on the planet.

As the lights dimmed on a rainy Saturday night in Chicago, Larry Gott's acoustic guitar chimed throughout the air while vocalist Tim Booth's voice could be heard serenading the crowd, "Where is the love?". As the crowd stared at an empty stage, they began to look around before Gott and Booth could be seen making their way from the back of the floor to the stage performing a rare performance of "Lose Control", a Top-40 hit for the band two decades back in the UK. As Booth sung the lyrics of "Shake my body-release my soul", the remaining five members of James took their places on stage and immediately at the songs conclusion, they launched into "Seven", a luminous love song that glistened throughout the sold-out theater as the seven members of James executed it flawlessly. The exquisite piano chords of "Just Like Fred Astaire" were next. This cut from their 1999 album Millionaires (one of their best) sadly, didn't warrant a US release initially. The dancing metaphor is a salute to a faultless love. "Ring the Bells" ignited the ready and aware crowd led by drummer David Baynton-Power snapping wrists amidst a flood of strobe lights. Four songs into the show, the band had already reached an apogee they would maintain for the entire performance. This was merely foreplay for the band as they spent the next 2-hours building the show until it reached a walloping emotional climax that would make Springsteen and U2 gush with envy.

The band told the crowd that they looked at the 2008 set list and determined that since many of the same fans were in attendance-they would change up as much of the show as possible. There wasn't a single song repeated until the thirteenth song of the evening. Despite the band receiving no airplay in Chicago and minimal promotion for the show, it was a sell-out far in advance. For a band whose sound on record sounds so distinct, it constantly amazes me at their capacity to re-create these sounds on stage. Even the new songs felt strategically placed within the set and the overwhelming majority of the crowd hung on every note and lyric just like it was an archetypal James song. "Dust Motes" was more revelatory in concert with some fine slide guitar work by Gott. "Tell Her I Said So" emphasized the band's largely unpretentious music with a textured feel. Booth's lyrics pierced the crowd as they continually sung the chorus at the end ("Here's to a long life"). "It's Hot" emphasized faith and sexual healing ("Life loves to exist"). Booth sells his vocal wailing with panache for the theatrical as his arms stretched far out as if he was communicating with a higher power. "Ten Below" was written from the perspective of a child in English boarding school. One of the keys to the persistent artistic development of James is their penchant to dip into the mindset of their listeners. Who can't relate to being young, fearful, alone and longing for home? The lyric touches on the need to break free and truly find yourself outside of a society full of rigid roles and responsibilities. Just because they've aged doesn't mean they can't stretch back to the past for inspiration and this is one of the keys to their constant evolution. "Crazy" consoled your acute senses while inflicting a sensation of meditative thought ("This magic world, it inspires"). The only downfall of the show was the casualty of songs from Hey Ma from 2-years ago. It may very well be their magnum opus and hearing only one song from it was a disheartening; alas it's hard to complain when the 22-songs they delivered were nothing short of pure magnetism.

With the band digging deep into their catalog for the Chicago crowd, they stretched further back than anyone had expected. "Hymn From A Village": was led by the slap-dash bass of Jim Glennie, who was a driving force. Glennie is the anchor for not just the band's sound but their songs as well. Next to Booth's lyrics, Glennie's authoritative and whipping bass directs the songs and defines James at their core. "Born of Frustration" with its nimble guitar launch elicited a strong reaction and when Andy Diagram's trumpet accentuated the melody it proceed to be a transcendent moment for the crowd. "I Wanna Go Home" a tale of pulling yourself out of your stupor seeking deliverance. This is where art transcends its purpose of mere entertainment into something more mystical and sanguine as the crowd sung and clapped along with the band. "Johnny Yen" cued the crowd to enter a state of bliss which they never left. Booth's orgasmic body movements harmonizing with Saul Davies violin and Diagram's horn was a sight too glorious to even reconstruct with mere words. "Out to Get You" was spare and slight yet ominously exquisite the same way a sunset at dusk rejuvenates your soul. Once again, Davies violin glistened in a spurring yet sacred manner. The unexpected "Stutter" made an appearance in a 3-drum attack (with Saul Davies and Mark Hunter assisting) showing the band's instinctual punk tendencies. The penetrating and expressive bass of "Sound" built itself until it placed the audience in a state of dreamy sedation. Unbeknownst to many, James has one of the richest catalogs of music from the last two decades. In the UK alone they scored 19 Top-40 hits in a little over a decade. The music of James could be defined as the soundtrack of one situating their lot in life. Their music is about more than mere anguish but about finding your way through the drudges of treachery in search of the light. Their music is a strange brew of unharmonious conditions paired with the philosophy to overcome them. All of this is painted against a back drop of sumptuous melodies and rhythms which pull you closer with every listen.

The seven members of James, more than once, completely lost themselves amidst the surroundings, the crowd and their music. Most musicians are too conscious of what they need to achieve and never reach this rarified air on the stage. During the encore, "Say Something" found Booth in the crowd once again, holding hands and staring deeply into their eyes of his fans as he perched his body against theirs. Their music is enough to win the crowd over; however, the force with which they take the stage wallops the crowd in a way few bands could dream. The swinging "Gold Mother" had several crowd members on stage and the evening's finale of "Laid" wasn't even on the set list (according to a Twitter post by Booth the following day this was "out of respect" for the Chicago crowd). However, despite "Laid" being their best known song in the US, it was another track from Laid that stole the show; "Sometimes". "Sometimes" was a spiritual union for crowd and band in the full-album work-up of the song. The sing-a-long by the crowd at its finale ("Sometimes I look into your eyes and see your soul") evoked feelings I'm not sure I could ever feel again. I felt this way when I met my wife, saw her on our wedding day, witnessed the birth of my daughter, shared time with close friends where walls evaporate and we let each other into our worlds. James is one of the most self-aware bands I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Their body of work may come off as a series of pop variations of British music, but if you study their lyrics, they're one of the most unworldly and heartfelt music acts of the last century.

James is at the very top of their game live and on record at this moment in time. Instead of calling it in with monotonous performances or living off their legacy, they're fighting for their lives on the concert stage. It may only be clubs and theaters but they perform like they are in stadiums. What distinguishes great bands from good ones is their innate gift to take a masterful song and expand it on the concert stage. Some acts have vigor, some have meticulousness, some have rage but to defy logic you need all three to take your audience to that next level. James did just this at their Vic show. Filmmakers and artists deliver a product and it's up to how to audience dissects their art that defines it. Musicians have a second chance at everything. In concert, a song that may have felt limp on record suddenly shows off dimensions you never knew were there. Over the course of 22-songs James did more than wear their hearts on their sleeves but found a way to embellish their already breathtaking catalog. This is a scarcity few acts can conquer. To capture this magic in the bottle not just once, but twice is all but unfeasible but James did it with ease. There was a sense of longing, beauty, betrayal and above all else redemption. Broken down to their most basic elements, their music is about the journey life and our ongoing struggle for serenity. Whether you pick up The Best of, Laid, Hey Ma or The Morning After The Night Before, you will find a band capable of providing you with an all encompassing hug where you forge bonds, heighten hopes and in the end souls are saved. James was and is one of the most important bands of their time and if you're not listening to them, then it's time to be enlightened. No other act can create jolting poetic expositions about the shared experience we call life better than James.