Jason Molina

[Savage Henry]

Anyone else around here a fan? Sometimes his songs cut me like a knife. And his life was one hell of a sad story.

There's a fascinating documentary online, free to view, about the recording of the Magnolia Electric Company album Josephine. Molina's quite functional here, which he wasn't always, but it's an excellent watch.

https://vimeo.com/8459878

[Jimi Shandrix]

In a parallel universe was as big as Neil Young. An amazing talent with a tragic back story. So many great songs. Hold On Magnolia, Being In Love, The Dark Don't Hide It are today's favourites.

[BillyAnchor]

Massive, massive fan, I lived in Bloomington Indiana at the same time as him. For some reason I never saw him play though.

[Jimi Shandrix]

3 hours ago, BillyAnchor said:

Massive, massive fan, I lived in Bloomington Indiana at the same time as him. For some reason I never saw him play though.

One of the biggest musical regrets of my life not going to see Magnolia Electric Co. play at Mono when they did. Always makes me think of Homer meeting Mr T at the mall. I'll go a little later, I'll go a little later then they told me he'd just left. 

[BB_Bino]

I’d never heard of Jason Molina until seeing this thread, just briefly checked him out on Spotify, sounds great. Thanks for sharing.

[Savage Henry]

I’d never heard of Jason Molina until seeing this thread, just briefly checked him out on Spotify, sounds great. Thanks for sharing.

 

As above, it is a shame, but not surprising, that he never made it big.

 

Didn’t It Rain, released as Songs: Ohia is brilliant, as is the album he put out with Will Johnson.

 

[Jimi Shandrix]

Right. I've been inspired by Detournement's Dylan marathon on another thread. I've dug out all the old records and I'm going to have a Songs:Ohia/Magnolia Electric Co./Jason Molina marathon. Only one record a day mind or I'll end up an emotional puddle. Starting at the start and working forward. Lockdown's gonna fly by. I don't have Protection Spells or The Ghost but I'm sure they're both on you tube. Started off with Songs:Ohia's self titled debut today from 1997. Was never particularly one of my favourites but listening back to it for the first time in a looong time, I'm not really sure why. Musically it sounds amazing. Molina's guitar playing beautifully augmented with shuffling drums and snatches of woodwind. I would say that much like Bill Callahan on the early Smog records, Molina hasn't really found his voice here. Sounds like he's been huffing helium a bit. Would have loved to  have heard this rerecorded a few years down the line. All round a pretty dramatic opening statement. 7.5/10. Fave tracks "Cabwaylingo", "Crab Orchard", "Big Sewell MT" and "Little Beaver". Next up "Hecla And Griper".

[Jimi Shandrix]

Day two of the Molina marathon. I'm already breaking the rules. Two records in this instalment. I think I'm just racing to get to the really good ones because these two, "Hecla & Griper" and "Impala" definitely don't fall into that category. "Hecla" was originally an 8 tack mini album only released on cd in 1997 but I'm using the 2015 vinyl edition which has 4 extra tracks. Arguably the weakest release in the Molina pantheon, this came 9 months after the debut and kinda feels like a collection of leftovers. Does however contain one fantastic track in "Easts Last Heart". You can hear the difference in Jason's voice as well. Definitely sounding more confident. Dare I say, pretty unessential. 5.5/10. Fave tracks "Easts Last Heart" "All Pass" and "Reply And Claim". Next up is "Impala" from 1998. Starting off with their finest track to date "An Ace Unable To Change" which shows where the band was headed with its swirling droney keys. They still sound like a band with great potential at this point rather than anywhere near the finished article. For me personally, there are too many short songs that are over before they really get a chance to hit their stride. 6/10 Fave tracks "An Ace Unable To Change", "Easts Heart Divided" & "This Time Anything Finite At All". Next up "The Ghost", an album I don't really know very well and, to my ears anyway, the more familiar "Axxess & Ace".

 

[Jimi Shandrix]

The Molinathon continues. I too am ramping up the testing (except I am for real, Mr Hancock), and so today I have no fewer than 3 Songs Ohia albums to report on. The very aptly named  "The Ghost" from 1999 was a ltd edition of 500 cds sold on tour. These are essentially solo demos recorded onto a tape recorder that sounds like it's on it's last legs. Sounds like a massive generator whirring away in the background. For me this adds to the atmosphere of these recordings and makes for a genuinely haunting listen. I wasn't familiar with this set beforehand and whilst I would say it's far from essential, it's an interesting curio and more listenable for me than "Hecla" or "Impala". 7/10 Fave tracks "The Dark Wrong Turn", "Ruby Eyes In The Fog" & "A Widow Sang The Stars Down". On then to 1999's official album "Axxess & Ace". The first truly great Songs Ohia album and a giant leap forward musically and lyrically. The band sound really tight and its 9 tracks are given more space to stretch out. The golden era well and truly starts here. 8.5/10. Fave tracks "Hot Black Silk", "Love Leaves Its Abusers" "Captain Badass" and the truly spellbinding "Come Back To Your Man". Before the next studio album there was another tour only cd called "Protection Spells" again ltd to 500 copies. Whilst I applaud the generosity of leaving nothing behind and giving fans access to demos that wouldn't otherwise see the light of day, this is a tough listen. Bleak doesn't even begin to cover it. At this point I was  thinking this is a good project, It's keeping me out of trouble but if I do this again maybe next time I'll ponder the collected works of Black Lace. Slightly more hi-fi sounding than "The Ghost" but a lot less interesting for it. Clearly Molina had a strong grasp of quality control because none of these 10 tracks bar maybe "Trouble Will Find You" would have made it on to "Axxess". 5.5/10. Next up "The Lioness" and "Ghost Tropic".

[Jimi Shandrix]

Saturday lunchtime. Usually getting ready to go to the fitba. We don't have a game today though. So what better way to spend an afternoon than to continue my trawl through Jason Molina's back catalogue. So, onward with what is quite clearly their best album yet "The Lioness" from 2000. The Scottish album. Recorded at CHEM19 in Glasgow with help from our very own Alasdair Roberts and Arab Strap. Check the drum machine on the incredible "Being In Love" to see the latter's influence. As much of a progression over "Axxess & Ace" as that album was over "Impala", the overiding theme here is similar, namely love and relationships, (nothing to see here Oasis fans) but whilst "Axxess" lyrically feels like that first flush of lust, this seems like the make or break bit further down the line. A devastating record in every sense. 9/10 Fave tracks "The Black Crow", "Tigress" "Being In Love" & "Lioness".  Up next is the strangest record the band produced, also released in 2000, "Ghost Tropic". This sounds like the soundtrack to an imagined western directed by David Lynch, with it's Morricone flourishes. There is a dreamlike quality in tracks like "Lightning Risked It All" and "Ghost Tropic" parts 1 and 2. This feels like a palette cleanser of a album. 8/10 fave tracks "No Limits On The Words", "Not Just A Ghost's Heart" & "Incantation". The only record released by S.O. in 2001 was a live album recorded in Italy at the end of the previous year, "Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma" which translates as "You Came To Me As A Ghost". It features 8 tracks, 5 of which were never released anywhere else. For the first time we hear Molina's songs presented in a standard 4 piece rock band setting. They sound like a blistering proposition live, the versions of "Tigress" and especially "Being In Love" are jaw-droppingly good. This is where the mid 70's Neil Young comparisons begin to take shape. 8/10 Fave tracks are the two aforementioned tracks from "The Lioness" LP plus "Nobody Tries That Hard Anymore" & "Constant Change". Here we see the seed sown of what would become the second half of Molina's career but before we get to that we have 2002's "Didn't It Rain". This is the first time we hear Molina's voice paired with Jennie Benford and the results are revelatory. The opening 8 minute title track where the two voices rise wordlessly over the picked mandolin make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. 8/10 Fave tracks "Didn't It Rain", "Steve Albini's Blues", "Blue Factory Flame" & Blue Chicago Moon". Sparse and melancholy this album sounds like an ending, that he had taken the band as far as he could, but thankfully it was only the end of the beginning and what was to come next was unbelievably better than anything that had come before.

[Jimi Shandrix]

Contain your excitement no longer folks. It's time to continue on our journey through one of the great American songbooks. First up is the final album under the name Songs Ohia, 2003's  "The Magnolia Electric Co." This is probably the first album I would recommend listening to for any new disciples. Molina's most famous record and simply put one of greatest Americana albums of all time. Bursting out of blocks with "Farewell Transmission" with its hitherto unseen dusty swagger, this sounded like a completely different band which, apart from the returning Jennie Benford, it was. This band were his Crazy Horse and, with them, some of the best songs he'd ever written were given space to truly soar. "Just Be Simple" could have been lifted straight off Gram's "Grievous Angel" with its whiskey soaked sadness with Benford playing the Emmylou role perfectly. Guest vocalist Lawrence Peters does a sterling job on "The Old Black Hen" and it immediately sounds like it could've been written during the great depression and found a home on Harry Smith's Folk Anthology. "John Henry Split My Heart" is a powerhouse of dust bowl blues before the final "Hold On Magnolia" brings everyone to their knees. If I had to choose just one desert island track by Jason Molina this would be it. Quite how this has escaped Hollywood's attention as a closing credits tearjerker is a mystery. f**k me, I need a lie down. 10/10 Fave tracks all of them. 2004 saw the low key release of Jason Molina's first album under his own name "Pyramid Electric Co." Featuring Molina alone with just his guitar and occasional piano this is an altogether different beast which rewards repeated listens. An impossibly dark ghostly album that for me brings to mind the last couple of tracks on David Crosby's "If I Could Only Remember My Name". 8.5/10 Fave tracks "Pyramid Electric Co.", "Red Comet Dust", "Division St Girl" & "Long Desert Train". It took me a long time to get into this album because of what came before it and what followed, 2005's "What Comes After The Blues". The Songs Ohia moniker was now now retired and perversely the new name taken was Magnolia Electric Co. Carrying on where the last band album left off this is another masterpiece which, personally speaking is at least the equal of its predecessor. A similarly raucous opener in "The Dark Don't Hide It" gives way to Jennie Benford's wracked lead vocal on "The Night Shift Lullaby". Closing out Side 1 are two of Molina's most intensely personal lyrics "Leave The City" & "Hard To Love A Man" which are both utterly heartbreaking. There is simply not a weak link amongst the 8 tracks and the closing three tracks "Northstar Blues", "Hammer Down" & "I Can Not Have Seen The Light" play out like some heavenly trilogy. Easily another 10/10 record. Trouble was on the horizon though. Next up "Trials & Errors".

[Jimi Shandrix]

Molinathon day 5. The live album "Trials & Errors" from 2005 was actually released a month or two before the magnificent "What Comes After The Blues" but only features 2 tracks from that set. Such was the prolific nature of Molina's writing that there are 2 tracks that didn't see the light of day for another couple of years and further 3 that were never released anywhere else. Going by the last 2 Magnolia albums you might expect this to sound like a band at the top of their game but for me something about this release just doesn't sit right. They play the riffing rock band well enough and when it's good it's mighty ("The Dark Don't Hide It" & "Don't This Look Like The Dark") but at other times the band sound like they're going through the motions a bit. As live albums go give me "Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma" any day. 7.5/10. 2006 was a busy year for Molina, throwing himself into his work in order to stave off the ever worsening self inflicted illness. The band recorded more than 30 tracks at various locations in America that would be culled for  the next album "Fading Trails". All these tracks would eventually be compiled on the "Sojourner" box set the following year but before any of that we had another Jason Molina solo album "Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go". Very much in the same minimal vein as "Pyramid Electric Co", but even more bleakly beautiful. The reverb drenched vocals on "It's Easier Now" evoke a dusty 60's into 70's feel and bring to mind for me another great world weary record, "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and he'd made a career, after all, singing about all manner of less than cheery subjects but jesus, this is a raw listen. Absolutely essential though. 9/10 Fave tracks "It's Easier Now", "It Must Be Raining There Forever" "Get Out, Get Out, Get Out" & "It Costs You Nothing (That's What It's Worth". Tune in tomorrow for another fun filled trip where I have a look at "Fading Trails" & "Sojourner".

[Jimi Shandrix]

Gah! Furlough has ended. The dream is over. You'd think they could have at least waited till I'd finished the Molinathon. Very inconsiderate. Anyway the end is in sight. Today it's all about Magnolia Electric Co.'s "Fading Trails" & "Sojourner". 2006 saw the band record in excess of 30 tracks at 4 different locations in the US. These sessions begat the "Fading Trails" album in October of that year. Starting off with "Don't Fade On Me" a song the equal of anything on "Magnolia Electric Co." or "What Comes After The Blues" the signs looked good for another classic to add to the canon. Unfortunately, for me, there are only a couple of other gems amongst the 9 tracks, which was made all the more frustrating when the complete recordings from the 4 sessions were released as a box set, "Sojourner" in 2007. It's clear to see that Molina could have compiled an album that would have stood shoulder to shoulder with anything he'd done. The 12 tracks recorded in Nashville and titled "Nashville Moon" are the highlight. Taken as a whole this would have made for a much better release than "Fading Trails". As would "Black Ram", 9 tracks recorded in Virginia. More so had they taken the best bits from each. The third disc in the box, "Sun Session"  contains 4 tracks recorded at the legendary Sun  Studios in Memphis  and the audio side of things is rounded off with "Shohola", 8 tracks recorded at home and essentially another solo album albeit not up to the standard of "Pyramid.." or "Let Me Go.." As well as this, the beautiful wooden box contained a 20 minute dvd containing snapshots of life on the road set to a backing of tracks from the first 2 Magnolia LP's, which was exactly as you might imagine (lots of long shots of corn fields and run down towns in the middle of nowhere). Bizarrely the box also contained a Magnolia Electric Co. medallion in a felt pouch. I have never felt compelled to wear it but it's a nice thing. Taking all this into  account, the tracklist chosen for "Fading Trails" is quite an odd one. For me it's a 7.5/10. Fave tracks "Don't Fade On Me", "Lonesome Valley" & "Talk To Me Devil Again". "Sojourner", I would give 9/10. As a whole it's pretty essential for any fan and you can probably compile your own album that would be far superior to "Fading Trails" from it. For the record here's mine, a 13 track double album. 

"Don't Fade On Me", "Lonesome Valley", "Nashville Moon", "What Comes After The Blues", "Don't This Look Like The Dark", "North Star", "Bowery", "Texas 71", "Down The Wrong Road Both Ways", "In The Human World", "What's Broken Becomes Better", "Blackbird" & "Talk To Me Devil Again".

Next up will be "Josephine" & "Molina & Johnson".

 

[Jimi Shandrix]

Hurtling towards the end now. Hankies at the ready. 2009 saw the final album by Magnolia Electric Co. "Josephine". The hype sticker on the front cover said "no doubt his strongest set of songs since the inception of Magnolia Electric Co". Sadly this was no more than record company bluster. "Josephine" is Molina's most ordinary studio recording since "Impala" 11  years previously. It does however contain 1 surefire classic in the opening "O Grace" which, as the last truly great song he ever wrote, gets me every time. Don't think I've ever been able to listen to that track without finding something in my eye. There are a couple of other decent tunes on there. "Whip-Poor-Will", a song first spotted around 2003 was always a beauty but this version of it was strangely anaemic. The ultimate version, a stunning duet with Jennie Benford, was eventually released on the 10th anniversary edition of "Magnolia Electric Co" in 2013. All in all, a very unsatisfying final chapter. Not a record I have found myself going back to very often and listening to it again for this project has done nothing to change my mind. 7/10 Fave tracks "O Grace", "Whip-Poor-Will", "Hope Dies Last" & "Shiloh". A few months  after this came the final release in Molina's lifetime. A collaborative effort with Will Johnson of the band Centro-Matic, "Molina & Johnson" could really have been released by any number of alt-country also-rans at any given time since the late 90's. I'm afraid there is very little here to get excited about. (My apologies to Savage Henry who earlier in this thread said it was a favourite of his.) 6.5/10 Fave tracks "All Gone, All Gone" & "Wooden Heart". After this Molina spent time dotted between London, Chicago and Indianapolis, in and out of rehab trying to outrun the bottle. His body finally succumbed on March 16th 2013 aged just 39. He died from multiple organ dysfunction brought about by extreme alcoholism. If anyone's had their interest peaked there is a great book by Erin Osman "Jason Molina - Riding With The Ghost". This wasn't altogether the end of the story though. There have been a handful of posthumous releases and, as I've come this far, I might as well have a look at them next.

[Jimi Shandrix]

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.

[Jimi Shandrix]

 

[Savage Henry]

Sterling work. I don’t think I could do two albums in a sitting. One is hard enough.

[Jimi Shandrix]

6 minutes ago, Savage Henry said:

Sterling work. I don’t think I could do two albums in a sitting. One is hard enough.

Thank you sir. I'm now sitting in the corner of the room rocking back and forward.

[Savage Henry]

Posthumous album announced.  Can’t imagine it’ll be a joyous outpouring of celebratory disco, but I for one cannot wait. 
 

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/posthumous-jason-molina-album-announced-listen-to-shadow-answers-the-wall/

[Jimi Shandrix]

4 hours ago, Savage Henry said:

Posthumous album announced.  Can’t imagine it’ll be a joyous outpouring of celebratory disco, but I for one cannot wait. 
 

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/posthumous-jason-molina-album-announced-listen-to-shadow-answers-the-wall/

This is exciting. A new album comprised of unreleased tracks. "Shadow Answers The Wall" sounds great. Really enjoyed the live footage from Milan in 2000 on that link as well.