Secretly Canadian
2002
Didn't It Rain
About This Album
After the densely textured, almost suffocating feel of Ghost Tropic, Didn't It Rain is like a blast of arctic wind. Recorded live, the album has a much looser, informal feel than its predecessor. This jam-session quality is also fostered by the addition of Jim Krewson and Jennie Benford from the neo-bluegrass band Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops, lending mandolin and close harmonies to the sparse, minor-key acoustic strumming of Jason Molina. But don't come expecting some sort of hootenanny. Lyrically, Didn't It Rain still delves into some dark territory, though not nearly as bleak as Ghost Tropic. One senses Molina trying to carve out some bare-bones truths and live without illusions when he sings on the title track of Emersonian self-reliance: "I'll call you friend indeed, but I'm going to watch my own back." Echoing this sentiment is "Ring the Bell," the best song on the album and one of the best in the entire Songs: Ohia catalog. Atop a harrowing cello drone, Molina sings, "Help does not just walk up to you" and "If there's a way out it will be step by step through the blackness" -- there may be transcendence somehow, but it's still necessary to deal with the here and now.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 5)

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