My Morning Jacket will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their sophomore studio album, At Dawn, by issuing an expanded version of the LP. At Dawn: 20th Anniversary Edition is now available for pre-order on CD via Darla Records with additional copies, including vinyl, on sale at select retailers on April 9.
The reissue pairs the 14-track album with a Jim James solo performance from March 17, 2001. At Dawn, the follow-up to 1999’s The Tennessee Fire, was recorded at Tarbox Road Studios in Cassadaga, New York. My Morning Jacket originally released At Dawn on April 6, 2001.
Jim James’ solo acoustic performance on March 17, 2001 took place at the Radiology X-ray Room of the old Student Health Center on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin and was later broadcast on KVRX. At Dawn: 20th Anniversary Edition features the entire set consisting of seven songs. Each of the tunes from the set are previously unreleased with the exception of “Bermuda Highway,” which is featured on Chapter 2: Early Recordings
Erik Wofford recorded James’ March 2001 set. Wofford shared the following of his experience:
It was recorded live, but not broadcast live. I multi-tracked to an 8 -track Otari mx5050 tape machine and mixed it at a later time. The main thing to take away from this is there is no artificial reverb on these tracks. That’s just what that surprisingly small 15×15 room with tile walls sounded like; essentially a chamber reverb. Jim liked reverb so much during this time that he loved being right in the middle of it, playing around with its natural decay. Notes are made a little more percussive so he could enjoy the wash of reverb bathing him, almost like a conversation with a room. This recording will stand out in my mind as one of the most special moments I’ve been involved in. I still own the cheap acoustic guitar he played for this session and will cherish it forever. A few years after this recording, the KVRX building was torn down so this is one of the few documents of what this special room sounded like. I still want to build a chamber reverb with these dimensions and materials some day.
While MMJ’s online store’s At Dawn: 20th Anniversary Edition vinyl pre-order quickly sold out, the store has been restocked with vinyl pressings of The Tennessee Fire: 20th Anniversary Edition.
At Dawn: 20th Anniversary Edition CD Tracklist
CD1
- At Dawn
- Lowdown
- The Way That He Sings
- Death Is My Sleezy Pay
- Hopefully
- Bermuda Highway
- Honest Man
- X-mas Curtain (Album Version)
- Just Because I Do
- If It Smashes Down
- I Needed It Most
- Phone Went West
- Strangulation!
- Untitled
CD2: Jim James Live KVRX 3/17/2001
- Bermuda Highway (Live KVRX)
- Lowdown (Live KVRX) – previously unreleased
- Hopefully (Live KVRX) – previously unreleased
- Nashville to Kentucky (Live KVRX) – previously unreleased
- I Needed it Most (Live KVRX) – previously unreleased
- I Will Be There When You Die (Live KVRX) – previously unreleased
- Just Because I Do (Live KVRX) – previously unreleased
- X-mas Curtain (Album Version)
- Just Because I Do
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