The JamBase List | My Morning Jacket Archive Wish List

We were very excited back on Tuesday when My Morning Jacket revealed the launch of a new live archival series. MMJ official recordings have been few and far-between, which is a shame considering how good of a live act they are.

While little info about what’s in store the program has been announced, we wanted to help the process by putting together a wish list of 10 releases we’d like to see from the My Morning Jacket live archival series. Let’s get down to it:

10. April 21, 2006 -Rites Of Spring: Nashville, TN

In 2006 MMJ were starting to blow up after the release of the well-received Z the previous year. This short but sweet performance includes rare covers of The Flying Burrito Brothers’s “Older Guys” and “Head Held High” by Velvet Underground as well as takes on a whopping six tracks from Z.

9. August 18, 2012 -Merriweather Post Pavilion: Columbia, MD

In 2012 Jim James and Co. launched the Spontaneous Curation series of shows in which fans helped pick each night’s setlist. One of our favorite performances from this era took place at Merriweather and featured an interesting “Cobra” > “Run Thru” > “Cobra” and a fun cover of “Rock The Casbah” that saw Band of Horses front man Ben Bridwell bring his two young daughters on stage as the two bands collaborated.

8. September 27, 2003 -Headliner’s: Louisville, KY

Following the release of their major label debut, It Still Moves, My Morning Jacket came home to Louisville for a two-night stand at Headliner’s. We went with the second show of the run thanks to its ridiculous setlist. Plus, we’d love a soundboard of Jim James performing “Time Of The Season” (The Zombies) by himself.

7. May 31, 2011 -Palace Theater: Louisville, KY

Here’s another album release celebration in the band’s hometown of Louisville as this time they had just released Circuital and were performing in front of a worldwide webcast audience. There’s plenty of highlights, but this show deserves the treatment if only for Erykah Badu’s exceptional guest spot.

6. June 25, 2005 -Pearl St.: Northampton, MA

MMJ’s 2005 visit to Pearl St. contains a nice mix of Z and It Still Moves material and rare covers of Prince’s “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” and The Drifters’s “This Magic Moment.”

5. September 12, 2012 -Wiltern Theatre: Los Angeles, CA

Here’s another show from the Spontaneous Curation series that features a ridiculous setlist. MMJ were in the middle of a three-night stand at L.A.’s Wiltern and did a phenomenal job of mixing it up. They even brought out Iron & Wine for a take on George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity.”

4. June 16, 2006 -Bonnaroo: Manchester, TN

My Morning Jacket always lays down outstanding performances at Bonnaroo and we’re huge fans of the relentless two sets they delivered in 2006. Andrew Bird guests, the band tackles a diverse set of covers such as “Loving Cup” and “It Makes No Difference” as they were clearly on top of their game and happy to show it.

3. December 31, 2008 -Madison Square Garden: New York, NY

Perhaps the highest profile gig in My Morning Jacket history was when the band headlined Madison Square Garden for New Year’s Eve 2008 -2009. The group went all in that night and we’d love to hear a soundboard recording of the show.

2. March 10, 2007 -Langerado: Sunrise, FL

My Morning Jacket headlined the last Langerado Festival held at Sunrise’s Markham Park. They won many new fans that night as they strung together one of their best songs after another during a year in which they only played a handful of shows.

1. October 18 -23, 2010 -Terminal 5: New York, NY

There’s no doubt that the shows we’d most like to see released in the new series are from My Morning Jacket’s superb five-show run at Terminal 5 in New York City from October ’10. Each night MMJ would play one of their albums in their entirety before finishing off the show with one insane rarity after another. It’s time these recordings were put into fans’s hands.