For those unaware, My Morning Jacket found itself at a crossroads as it prepared to create the record that would become its breakthrough. Two members had amicably departed on a prior tour, and their replacements were settling into the group’s chemistry.

The Kentucky ensemble also felt a desire to change up the approaches that served it so well on its first three LPs. Getting out of that comfort zone, making great use of the recent recruits, and inviting a professional producer into the fold paid immense dividends in the form of the critically revered Z.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and strictly limited to 2,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set of Z presents the 2005 effort ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in audiophile-grade sound for the first time.

A considerable part of the record’s celebrated appeal and success — John Leckie’s outstanding production, which tamps down the group’s signature reverb and washes the music with organic warmth and cosmic textures — emerges with previously unheard openness, presence, and grandness.

Benefitting from an ultra-low noise floor, superior groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces, this collectible edition frames leader Jim James and company’s fare amid deep-black backgrounds and expansive soundstages. Songs feel natural, golden, and seemingly endless in scope. The extent of the dynamic breadth and accuracy of detail you sense will likely only be limited by the capacity of your stereo.

You’ll hear the subtle nuances and smooth falsetto of James’ voice; liveliness of the studio environment; atmospheric flourishes of the effects pedals; wet splash and pounce of the percussion; soft sparkle of the keyboards; and the near-infinite tonality of the guitars like never before. Those benefits extend to the bonus track “Where to Begin.”

Side One:
1. Wordless Chorus
2. It Beats 4 U
3. Gideon

Side Two:
4. What a Wonderful Man
5. Off the Record
6. Into the Woods

Side Three:
7. Anytime
8. Laylow
9. Knot Comes Loose

Side Four:
10. Dondante
11. Where to Begin

I was actually lucky enough to catch a “Z” 20th anniversary show at Red Rocks in August - hearing it all in sequence that way really does drive home how much of a colossal leap forward it was for the band - it crystallized what their sound was meant to be and unleashed a whole new set of strengths you don’t see on the prior records.

Much like Wilco, MMJ has settled into a mostly consistently good band and hasn’t really ever gone back to the mountaintop of being a great one (though I’d argue Waterfall 1 & 2 both come close). But their live show still rips and these records from the peak era will continue to live forever.

That all now said, this is one of the first albums that got me into alternative rock, honestly not a single weak song on it. That extended guitar part in the second half of Lay Low is like sex to my ears! So yes, I think my own personal favorite moments on the album are the psychedelic instrumental breakdowns. Sometimes they last for several minutes and they are very immersive. I mean, come on now, Off The Record is nuts - it’s inspired by reggae, blues rock and prog equally. It’s vibrant, and mesmerizing. There is also a brilliant several minutes long solo at the end of Lay Low, where the first few drumbeats of that track kinda remind me of something else; and I’m sure I am not alone in that.

In closing, and if you actually were not aware all these years later, the running theme here throughout the album is heavy and utterly depressing, for it is about a childhood friend of James who committed suicide. It’s honestly one of the saddest and darkest-themed albums of music I have in my collection, both lyrically and musically, but my goodness what a colossally important, and genuinely all-embracing work of musical art this album truly is (especially now it has been sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and released here as a defining 180g 45rpm 2LP Box-Set).

The deluxe packaging of Mobile Fidelity’s Z UD1S set celebrates the work’s distinguished status with unique art developed in collaboration with the band. Housed in a slipcase, the LPs come in special foil-stamped jackets. You also get two inserts devised by the group for this release. Aurally and visually, this reissue is for listeners who want to engage in everything involved with the album, including Kathleen Lolley’s striking cover art.

It depicts a trio of avian surgeons operating on one of their own — a bird that happens to have a city inside his belly. James chose the image because of the way it represents the world within all of us and suggests the need to block out exterior noise and focus on your surroundings.

My Morning Jacket Explores Cosmic Frontiers on Z: Rolling Stone Ranks the Band’s Fourth Effort as One of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Experience the 2005 Record in Audiophile Sound for the First Time: Strictly Limited to 2,500 Numbered Copies, Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP Box Set Includes a Bonus Track and Custom Art.

1/2” / 15 IPS / Dolby SR analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.

Official Purchase Link