Didn't It Rain | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 5, 2002 | |||
Genre | Indie rock, folk rock, alt-country, blues | |||
Length | 43:25 | |||
Label | Secretly Canadian | |||
Producer | Edan Cohen | |||
Songs: Ohia chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Pitchfork Media | (8.8/10) [2] |
Didn't It Rain is the sixth regular album by American musician Songs: Ohia.
The album is named after "Didn't It Rain", a traditional song popularized by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 1948 and Mahalia Jackson in 1954. [3] Written and published by Henry Thacker Burleigh (1866 - 1949).
It was recorded by Edan Cohen at Soundgun Studios in Philadelphia and released by Secretly Canadian on March 5, 2002. The Metacritic website gave the album a composite rating of 85, ranking it thirteenth among the best albums of 2002. [4]
All songs written by Jason Molina.
The 2014 Re-release included an extra disc of demos:
Didn't It Rain was recorded as a live studio album. [2]
The album title is a reference to the song of the same name by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. [3]
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton.
Jason Andrew Molina was an American musician, singer and songwriter. Raised in northern Ohio, he came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast of musicians in the late 1990s. Beginning in 2003, he garnered a further indie following for his releases with the band Magnolia Electric Co.
The Magnolia Electric Co. is the seventh and final album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago and released by Secretly Canadian on March 4, 2003. The naming of the album and comments by Jason Molina have led to discussions whether it is not simultaneously, in fact, the debut album by Molina's new band, also named Magnolia Electric Co.
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar. Secretly Group includes the three record labels as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publishing, representing artists, writers, film makers, producers, and comedians.
William J. Schaff Jr. is an artist and musician based in Warren, Rhode Island and Oakland, California. He is known for artwork for the bands Okkervil River, Songs: Ohia, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Walk the Line: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2005 biographical drama film of the same name released November 15, 2005 by Wind-Up Records. There are nine songs performed by Joaquin Phoenix, four songs by Reese Witherspoon, one song by Waylon Payne, one song by Johnathan Rice, two songs by Tyler Hilton, and one song by Shooter Jennings. At the Golden Globe Awards Joaquin Phoenix was awarded the Best Actor – Comedy or Musical and Reese Witherspoon was awarded the Best Actress – Comedy or Musical, as well as the film won the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Actress, which Witherspoon won.
Trials & Errors is a live album by Magnolia Electric Co., released on Secretly Canadian in 2005. It was recorded on April 16, 2003, at Club Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.
Pyramid Electric Co. is the first full-length solo album by Jason Molina, released in 2004 on Secretly Canadian Records. It was recorded by Mike Mogis and received universal critical acclaim according to Metacritic. While critics found it hard going: "Pyramid is not Songs: Ohia but the musical equivalent of A Season in Hell, not something one can take in often, but which is beautiful for the fact that it was completed at all", they also commented on the sincerity of the delivery: "The delivery is too matter-of-fact, too genuine to evoke pity or sadness. It is lethargic, yet not dreary — it grabs you violently and lays you down so, so gently." An unusual feature of the album was that it was released as a vinyl LP only, but each copy also contains the CD version of the album in miniaturized artwork.
The Lioness is the fourth studio album by Songs: Ohia. It was released by Secretly Canadian on January 17, 2000. A reissue of the album, Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions, was released on November 23, 2018.
Axxess & Ace is the third album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded by Michael Krassner at Truckstop Studios in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and released by Secretly Canadian on March 15, 1999.
"Hello Darlin'" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Conway Twitty. It was released in March 1970 as the first single and title track from the album Hello Darlin. The song was Twitty's fourth No. 1 song on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. The song spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that summer, and was named the No. 1 song of 1970. Aside from being Twitty's standard concert opener, the song became a country standard as well as his signature song. When performing with Loretta Lynn, Twitty would frequently sing the song directly to Loretta. Twitty's recording was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Ghost is a tour-only album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded by Jason Molina on a boombox at his home in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and released by Secretly Canadian on March 1, 1999. It was released as a limited edition of 500 copies, and made available on Songs: Ohia's 1999 tour with Drunk.
Protection Spells is a tour-only album by Songs: Ohia. It is a collection of 9 improvised pieces recorded by Jason Molina whilst on tour in 1999. It was limited to 500 copies and released by Secretly Canadian in 2000.
Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma is a live album by Songs: Ohia. It was recorded at Barchessone Vecchio in Modena, Italy on September 27, 2000. The album received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic score of 60. While Pitchfork Media wrote that the album "...offers a better introduction to Songs: Ohia than the last couple of proper albums, which seemed like transitional or exploratory releases", The Wire's reviewer was underwhelmed, feeling that the disc "[s]till sounds like the work of someone desperate to gain the approval of the Drag City clique".
Songs: Ohia is the debut studio album by Songs: Ohia. It was released by Secretly Canadian on April 1, 1997.
Marie Knight was an American gospel and R&B singer.
"Strange Things Happening Every Day" is a traditional African American spiritual.
"This Train", also known as "This Train Is Bound for Glory", is a traditional American gospel song first recorded in 1922. Although its origins are unknown, the song was relatively popular during the 1920s as a religious tune, and it became a gospel hit in the late 1930s for singer-guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. After switching from acoustic to electric guitar, Tharpe released a more secular version of the song in the early 1950s.
"Denomination Blues" is a gospel blues song composed by Washington Phillips (1880–1954), and recorded by him in 1927.
Gospel Train is a studio album by gospel and R&B artist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, recorded in July 1956 and released in December the same year. Tharpe is accompanied on vocals by the traditional black gospel quartet the Harmonizing Four on some of the songs. The album was noted as part of Tharpe's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.