About this episode

Jim James discusses the making of My Morning Jacket's album 'Z' and the band's evolution during that period.

For the 20th anniversary of the fourth My Morning Jacket album, we take a detailed look at how it was made. The band originally formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky by Jim James, Johnny Quaid, Tom Blankenship and J. Glenn. After signing with Darla Records, they released their debut album, The Tennessee Fire in 1999. Danny Cash joined on keyboards before the release of their second album, At Dawn, in 2001. Patrick Hallahan took over on drums as they signed to ATO Records. Their third album, It Still Moves, was released in 2003. At this point, Johnny Quaid and Danny Cash decided to leave the band so they held auditions and recruited Bo Koster and Carl Broemel. For their fourth album, they hired producer John Leckie and began recording outside of their home studio for the first time. Z was eventually released in 2005. In this episode, Jim James describes this pivotal moment for the band when they were challenging themselves by recording outside of Louisville with a seasoned producer. By working with John Leckie, they were able to rely on his expertise in the studio and push themselves in a new direction sonically. He discusses how their early characterization as a southern rock…

People in this episode

Guest: Jim James

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: My Morning Jacket, Darla Records, ATO Records

Books & works: The Tennessee Fire, At Dawn, It Still Moves

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