Here's the final chapter then of Molinathon rounding up all the posthumous releases in the 7 years since his death. The tail end of 2013 saw the 10th anniversary of Songs Ohia's final album "The Magnolia Electric Co." Along with the original LP we got a disc of demo recordings which were notable for versions of "Old Black Hen" & "Peoria Lunch Box Blues" which featured Molina on lead vocals rather than Lawrence Peters and Scout Niblett who did the honours on the finished album. The demos fall very much into the category of "for hardcore fans only". The real selling point is a bonus 10" featuring 2 tracks which were left off the finished album, "The Big Game Is Every Night", which is fantastic, and "Whip-Poor-Will" with Jennie Benford which is frankly fucking incredible. The following year's annual fleecing of music lovers everywhere that is Record Store Day featured "Journey On", a stunning cloth bound box with gorgeous silver embossing, which featured 18 tracks over 9 7" singles which encompassed every track released on the format under the name Songs Ohia. This was well worth queuing up outside Mono at 6 in the morning for. "£70 you say, would sir like the shirt off my back as well?". The earliest recordings like "Boys" & "Soul" sound pregnant with ambition but it's some of the later tracks that truly shine. Amongst my faves are "7th Street Wonderland", a rerecorded version of "Lioness", "The Gray Tower" & "United Or Lost Alone". 8.5/10. Later on in the same year saw a reissue of "Didn't It Rain" again with a bonus disc of demos. The sparse nature of the original album lends the demos a more listenable quality than the "Magnolia" demos. "Blue Factory Flame", "Two Blue Lights" & "Blue Chicago Moon" are especially spine tingling. In 2018 two lengthy long forgotten tracks were released as a 12" EP. At 17 and a half minutes "Travels In Constants" was a meditation in supernatural darkness that rewards repeated listens. Reminiscent of something off the "Ghost Tropic" album. The 13 minute flip "Howler" which, with it's Bontempi backing track, sounded unlike anything else Molina ever committed to vinyl. It's an 8/10 for me but it's unlikely to win over any new fans. Also in 2018, there was a reissue of "The Lioness". Released in a lavish box under the name "Love & Work - The Lioness Sessions", it contained the original LP, a further disc of demos, reproductions of some very personal letters and artifacts and some moving sleevenotes written by Aiden Moffat and Molina's wife Darcie. The piece of writing by Darcie is particularly heartbreaking. The demos include 7 unreleased tracks recorded at CHEM19 at the same time as the album but there's nothing that you could say should have been included on the finished record. There are also 4 tracks recorded in London which fare rather better, amongst them a stunning version of the old traditional hymn "Wondrous Love". Finally, earlier this year saw the release of Jason Molina "Live At La Chapelle", 11 tracks recorded in a church in Toulouse in 2005. For me, this is the best posthumous release so far. The acoustics of the church are perfect and highlight what an incredibly powerful voice Molina possessed. You can hear swallows screeching their approval outside the building and whispering French voices presumably saying "f**k me, this is incredible". 9/10 Fave tracks "East St Louis Blues", "31 Seasons In The Minor League", "Hold On Magnolia", "Nashville Moon" & "Leave The City". No doubt as the years go by there will be further bits and pieces unearthed from the vaults but that's yr lot for now. Jason Molina 1974-2013. RIP.
Whoa there. Almost slipped off the first page. I'm no having that.
