for the past couple weeks now, i've been absolutely loving magnolia electric co.'s sojourner box set...four cds (3 lps/1 ep), a dvd (tour doc the road becomes what you leave), a zodiac-star-chart poster, & an official magnolia electric co. medallion, all wrapped together in a nice wooden box displaying the band's insignia...each cd is individually titled and taken from separate recording sessions...the first (depending on how you choose to listen to them) is the ep, sun session, recorded at sun studios in memphis...supposedly, the band received studio hours as payment from the venue they played the previous night...two of the four tracks were featured on the 2006 album, fading trails, for which i beleive these sessions were recorded, but the songs sound great together & you can almost picture in your head the recording taking place in a couple hours before the group had to get back on the road...download: magnolia electric co. - talk to me devil, again
...shaola was recorded on one microphone by jason molina, with just his guitar...molia basically is magnolia electric co., as in he's the singer/songwriter & sole constant member...anyways, this disc is sparse, spooky, & short (8 songs at about 25 minutes)...i've probably listened to it the least of the four, but when i have it's forced me to stop what i'm doing & take notice...
download: magnolia electric co. - spanish moon fall and rise
...black ram was recorded in richmond by david lowry (camper van beethoven) & features a completely different ensemble than normal, including andrew bird...most of the reviews i've read seem to be giving this disc the most props, probably because of the crisp production...makes the music feel bigger...good stuff...
download: magnolia electric co. - what's broken becomes better
...finally, nashville moon, recorded by steve albini here in chicago, is the most familiar of the four discs, not just because half the songs were previously available in different forms, but because it's country-rock styling is probably the closest this set gets to capturing the group as they sound in a live setting...the band is tight, the songs all work together & it's probably my favorite disc...
download: magnolia electric co. - hammer down
download: magnolia electric co. - north star
...needless to say, highly recommended...but i do realize if you aren't very familiar with magnolia electric co., a box set, especially one in limited release (only 5,000) that's basically an outtakes compilation, may seem like an ambitious purchase...so if your looking for something that doesn't come with an official medallion, check out trials & errors, a live album that happened to be my favorite release of 2005...and go see these guys live, they're fantastic, constantly touring & will be at the empty bottle tomorrow night...$10.
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