REISSUE: My Morning Jacket – Z (20th Anniversary)

My Morning Jacket celebrates the 20^th anniversary of their breakthrough fourth album, Z, with a newly remastered deluxe edition; out now on ATO Records and available as a 2CD or 3LP set on colored vinyl. The expanded edition comes in a triple gatefold package and features 14 unreleased bonus tracks including, outtakes and demo versions.        

Critics and fans alike, hailed the Kentucky band’s fourth album, released in 2005, as their “Ok Computer”.  That description fit as Z was much like the Radiohead classic in that it was expansive and experimental; it took their Southern indie rock to soaring new heights with danceable rhythms and new influences and instrumentation.  The stunning album was led by standout tracks such as the upbeat, reggae-inspired rhythm of “Off The Record” and the fittingly-titled infectiously-catchy sing-along, “Wordless Chorus”.

 In addition to the original album, 14 bonus tracks are featured, highlighted by four previously unreleased tracks, including, “Where To Begin” with its aching pedal steel, which was one of the first tracks recorded with Bo Koster and Carl Broemel (formerly of Atlas and the Anchor favorite Old Pike).  Other standouts include the buzzing bass-led “The Devil’s Peanut Butter with its sticky strings and the sullen strummer, “How Could I Know (Oxen)” with its silo-soaring chorus.  Also included are several drum machine-aided demo versions created by Jim James, highlighted by “Wordless Chorus (Demo)”, “It Beats For You (Demo)” and the booming dub-inspired beat of “Off The Record (Demo)”; with most of the tracks nearly fully-fleshed out in their demo form. 

Twenty years later and Z sounds just as fresh and groundbreaking as ever and this deluxe reissue only adds to the album’s legacy.

For more info: https://www.mymorningjacket.com/ & https://mmorningjacket.bandcamp.com/album/z-20th-anniversary-deluxe-edition

Stream: “Where To Begin (Demo)” here: