As much as I love Jason Molina's music, I never really feel like I've cracked his early lo-fi days. There's a lot of hints of what Songs: Ohia would become, but it's not easy to hear it as the music of the same musician who wrote the albums towards the end of the Songs: Ohia monicker.
I picked up the debut Songs: Ohia record at the same time I got the Soujourner boxset. At that point, all I knew was Josephine and What Comes After the Blues - it wasn't the usual order of albums to hear (it'd be another year before I heard The Magnolia Electric Co record). I can't remember which I played first, but given the four discs of Soujouner, I suspect I played at least one of those first. I wasn't really expecting these songs to be quite so different to Magnolia, but I'd been brought in towards the end of his varied career and wasn't remotely familiar with the subtle twists and turns his vast recorded output went through. Part of me wishes I could have heard it all in a more sensible order, but most days I'm just glad I was introduced to his music by seeing him play live, and that I got to see him play live at all.
On Cabwaylingo Jason's voice is more nasal and high than it ever sounded again, which throws the listener off from the start (or, at least, this listener). It's not as warm as the version recorded as Vanquisher that appeared on the Journey On boxset; Crab Orchard afterwards sounds much more like the Molina I've spent many hours listening to. There are songs with a lot more bite to them though - Our Republic builds to something far bigger than most of the songs that preceded it, and Cotton Hill and Dogwood Gap are great examples of him dabbling in reaching beyond lo-fi. Tenskwatawa is a highlight, as is Little Beaver, although it shows just how little that I feel I've gotten into this album - if you'd mentioned those two song titles to me, I'm not sure I'd have known they were Molina song titles, let alone some of the songs on this album I like the most.
I bought this from the Secretly Canadian stall at the Independent Label Market in London. That was the first time I went when it was amazing; the second time was thoroughly disappointing in comparison and I've not been since. The Secretly Canadian stall had a bunch of Molina records and I regretted for a while not buying all of them (although it was wise to buy the Soujouner boxset then, because it sells for at least double what I paid for it now). I've probably since bought all the other ones they had, but I don't recall exactly which ones were there. This is the triple gatefold version of the reissue, unlike the single LP sleeve it's often found in now. The etching on the record says "edition of 500", but scrawled out, so I assume that was referring to an earlier pressing. It wasn't until a good number of months (possibly years) after I bought it that I found the download code inside.
Format: 12", triple gatefold
Tracks: 14
Cost: £15 new
Bought: Independent Label Market, London
When: 13/07/13
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Edition of 500" (crossed out)
mp3s: Download code
