I have two copies of this record, a situation I entered into somewhat willingly. A good number of years ago, a Kickstarter appeared for a project about a carousel (I think) that I normally would have not even given a second thought about (as you can tell by the fact I'm not entirely sure it was even a carousel), except that one of the backer rewards was a Jason Molina record featuring some unreleased songs. My Molina collection was in its infancy, but I was keen to pick up what ever I could, so pledged for that reward. I think it was about £30 in the end, which was a lot; it wasn't clear that the record was only a two-song 7" at the time.
As is so often the case with crowdfunding, the project fell through and the money all sort of disappeared. There'd been a while where I was periodically checking for updates and getting concerned that nothing concrete had appeared - I can't remember how long that period was, but I remember having to dig through emails to figure out when the money first came out. Eventually, it all fell apart and I remember emails blaming various people - things look like they got ugly.
Secretly Canadian, the record label who released most of Jason Molina's music announced two things in 2016 - they'd be releasing those songs as a Record Store Day 7" and that they'd be sending out free copies to anyone who backed the campaign. I thought that was incredibly good of them - I imagine a lot of people lost a lot of money in that project (my £30 would seem negligible) but they had no obligation other than a desire to help the fans who had lost money; it was a great gesture. I had to prove that I had backed the campaign, so I sent off the screenshots.
I can't remember exactly when that was (I could look it up I suppose, but it seems clear I'm not going to - perhaps I'm too worried I'll see exactly how much I paid to that project and get annoyed all over again), but before the record arrived, Record Store Day came around. I think part of me was worried that the record wouldn't actually turn up, or there'd be some material difference between the two, so I decided to buy a copy on RSD anyway (what's another £8 on a day of expensive records!?). Plus, I was eager to hear the songs.
The two songs on the 7" were covers of Townes Van Zandt, a musician I'd never really heard much about, let alone consciously listened to. In the years since, I've always thought I should check out more of his music, but I still haven't; I probably will one day. I'll Be Here in the Morning is a lovely warm, live recording of a song that sounds more Magnolia Electric Co than it does Songs: Ohia, despite consisting of just guitar and voice. It's a nice song. Tower Song is a slower, sweet song. Both tend slightly more towards Americana than Jason normally does, but I guess that's the nature of the songs. Definitely worth a listen.
Anyway, as expected, a second copy appeared in the post a few weeks later. They are identical, except my free copy got damaged in the post and has the slight crease you can see in the top picture. I say "free", I technically paid about £30 for that second copy, but I didn't record it that way - in my mind I lost £30 to a crowdfunding folly and learnt an important lesson; I also got a free record - the two are related, but I drew a line under that £30 and decided not to be annoyed by it. Sometimes you just have to let things go - it makes life easier sometimes. I have no intention of selling either copy - like most RSD releases you can still pick up a copy for not too far from the original asking price (of course, it's hard to know which records will end up being worth much more vs those that are ten-a-penny after RSD). As it is, I have two copies to remind me of the dangers of crowdfunding.
Format: 7"
Tracks: 2
Cost: £8 new / free new
Bought: Truck Store Oxford / Secretly Canadian Records
When: 16/04/16 / 19/05/16
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
