My Morning Jacket

The first live show I ever saw from this band was incredibly surreal. On stage were tons of hair, some feet and Flying V guitars. It took 30 seconds to convince myself to buy their then newest album, At Dawn. As mind-blowing as it was, it cut out suddenly at the end and I learned there was a bonus disc that seemed to have disappeared from my purchase. What brilliance was I missing out on? It plagued me for many years until now. Helping slighted people like myself, parts of the mysterious bonus disc and other demos from My Mornings Jacket’s debut, The Tennessee Fire, have been collated. While I still don’t understand why that beautiful song ended abruptly, there are still some great moments on an otherwise spotty purchase. Some demos, appropriately, feel half-baked, like "Lowdown” and "At Dawn,” but others, like "The Way that He Sings” and "Hopefully,” offer a new perspective on those beloved oldies. The real gems are actually a bit older, where this band’s incredible promise shone super-bright, like in "Heartbreakin’ Man” and the beautiful "I Think I’m Going to Hell.” This is just rough enough to scare away new fans but for us diehards, this is pretty awesome stuff.