“It Still Moves (Reissue - Remixed and Remastered)” My Morning Jacket
“It Still Moves” was the third album released by My Morning Jacket. It was a perfect example of sprawling, heavily reverbed Southern rock and established the band as a major act. Unfortunately, the production values on the 2003 release weren’t as high as they could have been, and according to an article in Pitchfork, the band jokingly refers to “It Still Moves” as their “wet blanket album,” due to the muffled sound. This masterfully remixed version has been tweaked in all the right ways — adding crispness throughout and even highlighting individual performances that were lost in the original mix. The new album also includes three unreleased B-sides and mostly unremarkable demos of ten of the original twelve tracks.
— Francis

Recommended: 8, 3, 5, 1, 10, 12, 23. No FCCs detected.

1. (5:57) Mahgeetah – Exhilarating opener. Shimmering, reverbed guitar and sweet, high vocals. Crunchy guitar solo near end. ****
2. (5:38) Dancefloors – Starts as a familiar Southern rock song. Stretches out with a nearly three-minute play-out that includes a classic Allman Brothers-type guitar solo, plinky piano and brass.
3. (4:37) Golden – Catchy, fingerpicked guitar ballad. Rapid-fire brushed drums, rich and warm harmonized vocals. Lovely. ****
4. (5:05) Masterplan – More deliberate pace. Growling guitars. Big drums. A hint of early Neil Young.
5. (5:21) One Big Holiday – Great, high-energy lead-in to a soaring guitar-rock classic. Fabulous guitar work. Searing solo in lead break. ****
6. (9:18) I Will Sing You Songs – Long, languid epic. Ethereal, dream-like open. Builds throughout. In last two minutes, descends into another world marked by light guitar, bells, special effects, and indistinct vocals.
7. (5:35) Easy Morning Rebel – Bouncy, swinging rock. Edgy guitar attacks. Stax Memphis horns added in full arrangement toward the end.
8. (6:06) Run Thru – Laid back rock for first three minutes. Then unleashes an incredible drum solo, which is joined by bass and guitar. Song is on Rolling Stones’ list of 100 greatest guitar songs. ****
9. (7:51) Rollin Back – Sounds like classic blues rock out of the 1960s, with 1960s-style guitar arpeggios and plaintive vocals.
10. (3:14) Just One Thing – Another soaring reverbed classic. Rich backing vocals. Strummed and chiming guitars. Strings. ***
11. (7:26) Steam Engine – Off-kilter drumbeats. Jim James’ lilting vocals intermixed with sweet guitar.
12. (6:25) One in the Same – Dreamy ballad with a very deliberate pace. Strummed guitar. High thin vocals. Soaring harmonies on backing vocals. Lyrics: “It wasn’t ‘til I woke up/ That I could hold down a joke or a job or a dream/But then all three are one in the same.” ***
13. (6:45) En La Ceremony (B-Side) – Jazzy, Flamenco-style guitar. Piano. Dreamy vocals. Tempo change at three minutes. Long rock trail-out. This track was partially rerecorded with current band members.
14. (5:28) Grab a Body (B-Side) – INSTRUMENTAL. Traditional, Southern rock. Fuzzy and crunchy guitars. Just a hint of unintelligible vocals in last minute.
15. (2:48) That’s Too Bad (B-Side) – Melodic, upbeat rock. Ringing guitars. Alt-country vocals with rich harmonies.
16. (6:05) Mahgeetah (Demo) – Acoustic version of #1. Vocals much less distinct, down in the mud.
17. (3:23) Dancefloors (Demo) – Countdown voices at the start with weird effects. Strumming guitar. High vocals. Sounds more alt-country. No long trail-out like on track #2.
18. (4:02) Golden (Demo) – Fingerpicked guitar ballad. James’ vocals are at times raw and his voice cracks. Delicate backing vocals.
19. (5:36) Masterplan (Demo) – Sounds like a live performance of a Neil Young standard.
20. (3:53) I Will Sing You Songs (Demo) – Much shorter version of track #6. Slowly strummed guitar. Vocals with the reverb one will get in a deep well. Lots of annoying tape hiss.
21. (4:51) Easy Morning Rebel (Demo) – Big and bouncy, even in this acoustic demo. Hints at the harder rock edge of track #7.
22. (3:07) Run Thru (Demo) – Slightly faster tempo, compared to track #8. Strummed and fingerpicked guitars. ****
23. (5:17) Rollin Back (Demo) – Fingerpicked acoustic blues rock. James’ reverbed vocals soaring above. **
24. (7:40) Steam Engine (Demo) – Acoustic demo that’s very true to track #11.
25. (5:29) One in the Same (Demo) – Countdown at start. Another very faithful, if somewhat faster, demo of the closing track of the original album. Rich harmonies.