Demos: Songs: Ohia – “Magnolia Electric Co.”

Magnolia Electric Co., like the Microphones’ Mount Eerie, was a final, pyhrric victory for a band about to end. Jason Molina and Phil Elverum have long since risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes of their old monikers and taken on the names of these respective albums — but today, we look back at Songs: Ohia and the demos for Magnolia Electric Co. The album is a scorching, Neil Young and Crazy Horse-referencing effort, a lumbering full-band venture that leaves blood in its wake and “the dead moon in its jaws,” but the demos are a different animal. These nine tracks are Molina alone, solo and acoustic. While the album’s larger arrangements were a necessary step for the songwriter, fans of his more lonesome, morose material won’t want to miss these readings, especially “The Old Black Hen” and “Peoria Lunchbox Blues” (which are sung by other vocalists on the album).

(Update: The MP3 links are down.)

Songs: Ohia – Magnolia Electric Co. demos

1. The Long Dark Blues: mp3
2. Just Be Simple: mp3
3. The Old Black Hen: mp3
4. I Made the Change: mp3
5. Peoria Lunchbox Blues: mp3
6. Whip-Poor-Will: mp3
7. The Big Game is Every Night: mp3
8. Hold On, Magnolia: mp3
9. You Can’t Save Everything: mp3

(Buy Magnolia Electric Co. from Secretly Canadian and look out for the Sojourner box in August)

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Album versions not cutting it for you? Click below for more live bootlegs and rarities.