xREL.v3

Artist: My Morning Jacket
Album: It Still Moves
Bitrate: 238kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: ATO Records
Genre: Rock
Size: 244.96 megs
PlayTime: 2h 16min 48sec total
Rip Date: 2016-07-02
Store Date: 2016-06-24

Track List: Disc #1/2

01. Mahgeetah                        5:56
02. Dancefloors                      5:38
03. Golden                           4:37
04. Master Plan                      5:04
05. One Big Holiday                  5:20
06. I Will Sing You Songs            9:18
07. Easy Morning Rebel               5:35
08. Run Thru                         6:06
09. Rollin Back                      7:50
10. Just One Thing                   3:13
11. Steam Engine                     7:25
12. One in the Same                  6:25

Track List: Disc #2/2

01. En La Ceremony                   6:45
02. Grab A Body                      5:28
03. That's Too Bad                   2:47
04. Mageetah (Demo)                  6:05
05. Dancefloors (Demo)               3:22
06. Golden (Demo)                    4:02
07. Master Plan (Demo)               5:36
08. I Will Sing You Songs (Demo)     3:53
09. Easy Morning Rebel (Demo)        4:51
10. Run Thru (Demo)                  3:07
11. Rollin Back (Demo)               5:16
12. Steam Engine (Demo)              7:40
13. One In The Same (Demo)           5:29

Release Notes:

When older albums are reissued, the acts involved typically have little if any
input into the process. Since they often don't own their masters, the labels are
free to re-release the music in any way they feel will get fans to open their
wallets again to purchase what they have already bought. Thankfully, that's not
the case with My Morning Jacket and this revamped version of their landmark 2003
opus It Still Moves.

Frontman/singer/songwriter Jim James never felt the set was mixed to its fullest
potential due to being rushed to get the band's first major label effort to
market in the midst of a heavy touring schedule. He gets a rare second chance to
correct that for this deluxe edition. Not only is the disc remixed, but it is
remastered too and three tracks that didn't make the initial pressing  augmented
with input from members of the current lineup   have been added. While those
tunes, along with the often ragged, sometimes even distorted, predominantly
acoustic demos of the 10 cuts, are far from essential, the freshly buffed audio
of the original is well worth hearing.

My Morning Jacket prides itself on no two of their releases sounding the same.
Still, from the sprawling majesty of opener  Mahgeetah  to the slow, sweet crawl
of the heavenly nine minute  I Will Sing You Songs  and the dreamy drift of
Steam Engine,  there is a swirling, timeless quality to It Still Moves that is
still, well, moving. Jim James sings like he's possessed with an angelic spirit
that makes the often inscrutable lyrics seem meaningful and the band plays with
a tamped down rootsy synergy most outfits never find. The floating, often
laconic yet stirring vibe running though the album is both emotional and
visceral. At its most straightforward this is psychedelic country with blues and
rock tinges, but it's much more delicate, discreet and indirect than those
genres imply.

The demos provide a fly-on-the-wall vantage point for how this music sounded in
its earliest incarnation, but it's likely only diehard fans will play them more
than once. Newly added selections  En La Ceremony  shifts from a tropicalia vibe
to a funky bluesy groove and  Grab a Body  brings a horn section to add a bit of
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes R&B to a mostly instrumental piece that
doesn't seem to have a sense of where it's going.

The enhanced audio remixing/remastering makes this already milestone, if not
quite career defining, work even better. It shows that James was right to return
and try to improve on what was already close to perfection.