My Morning Jacket to Reissue ‘It Still Moves,’ Unveil Unreleased Songs
My Morning Jacket have announced that a rework and reissue of their third LP It Still Moves will arrive this May. The deluxe reissue of the 2003 album features the album’s 12 songs remixed and remastered as well as three unreleased songs from the It Still Moves sessions – “En La Ceremony,” “Grab a Body” and “That’s Too Bad” – plus singer Jim James’ own demos.
The reissue is due out May 27th on ATO. Fans who pre-order the album will receive instant downloads of the polished-up versions of It Still Moves‘ “Golden” and “Mahgeetan.”
According to James, the band’s intense touring schedule at the time forced My Morning Jacket to hurriedly complete the album, which left the band feeling as though It Still Moves was “unfinished.” “Everybody can relate to something they’ve done in their life where you didn’t know it at the time, but you were rushed through finishing it,” James said. The 15th anniversary of the LP allowed James to revisit the album and remix it to his liking. The original album was “tweaked” by James, remastered by Bob Ludwig and mixed by Kevin Ratterman.
In addition to the remixed album tracks and three unreleased songs, the It Still Moves reissue also boasts James’ original demo versions of 10 of the album’s 12 songs. “I feel lucky to have had so many songs that feel like there are chances to go in other directions,” James said of the demos. “It definitely feels more lonely. Maybe more haunting.”
The It Still Moves reissue will be released in a special deluxe package with new artwork and exclusive photos in either a 2-CD or 4-LP 180 vinyl set.
Speaking to the New York Times, James referred to the original version of It Still Moves as the band’s “wet blanket” album, a joke about the LP’s muffled sound. “It Still Moves is really the only record in our catalog that I’ve always felt I wanted to remix,” James said. “Part of the fun of that record was that we recorded it all to tape, and it was all super-duper organic. But when we mixed it originally, we didn’t have enough time. We thought we were happy with it, but there are certain things that bothered me when I would listen to it, like, ‘Oh my God, you can’t hear that guitar solo.'”
As for the three mostly unreleased tracks – “Grab a Body” was technically a limited Record Store Day release back in 2012 – James had current MMJ bandmates guitarist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster, who didn’t join the band until the year after It Still Moves’ release, add flourishes to the tracks. “It became this fuller picture of the band, with most of the members from past and present playing together in a world,” James said of the bonus tracks.
The singer also revealed that he has a solo album that he’s readying for a fall release, with sights set on the follow-up to MMJ’s 2015 LP The Waterfall for 2017. “Another Jacket record is in progress,” James told the New York Times. “I’ve just recently rediscovered this desire for scorching rock n’ roll, and that’s hopefully what we’ll get around to.”
It Still Moves Reissue Track List
Original Album:
1. “Mahgeetah”
2. “Dancefloors”
3. “Golden”
4. “Masterplan”
5. “One Big Boliday”
6. “I Will Sing You Songs”
7. “Easy Morning Rebel”
8. “Run Thru”
9. “Rollin Back”
10. “Just One Thing”
11. “Steam Engine”
12. “One In The Same”
Bonus Material:
13. “En La Ceremony”
14. “Grab A Body”
15. “That’s Too Bad”
16. “Mahgeetah (Demo)”
17. “Dancefloors (Demo)”
18. “Golden (Demo)”
19. “Masterplan (Demo)”
20. “I Will Sing You Songs (Demo)”
21. “Easy Morning Rebel (Demo)”
22. “Run Thru (Demo)”
23. “Rollin Back (Demo)”
24. “Steam Engine (Demo)”
25. “One In The Same (Demo)”