Fading Trails

Magnolia Electric Co. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Secretly Canadian
• ASIN: B000H30A28
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,302 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2007 album from Jason Molina and his Magnolia Electric Co.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fitting followup, September 13, 2006

By 

H. Mackins III (Boston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fading Trails (Audio CD)

I had somehow forgotten that this one was on its way when I spotted it on the store shelf yesterday. Took it home with a little trepidation; after all, one never quite knows what to expect from a Jason Molina album. Will it be soft and contemplative? Loud and wailing? Turns out Fading Trails is somewhere in the middle, i.e. just right. Molina has made a career of capturing the plaintive sound of the rust belt, and here it's no different. A lot of great and sad songs, accented by pedal steel and some nice lead guitar noodling. Highlights include Don't Fade on Me and Lonesome Valley. A suitable companion to the self titled album and What Comes After the Blues. Seek it out.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief, but exquisite, May 13, 2007

By 

Buffalohump77 (Heart of Darkness) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fading Trails (Audio CD)

This is the second MEC record I have bought (WCATB being the first). I'm already a huge fan. In my opinion, these guys deserve kudos equal to that which Will Oldham has enjoyed all these years. Except they are more consistent and have the decency to record their music in such a way that it is easy to hear, even on inferior equipment. Lo-fi schmo-fi. This is a superb companion to WCATB, which was one of my favourite LPs of 2006. If you're a fan of 'cosmic American music', I suggest you get into MEC pronto. They seem to tap into something which is entirely timeless, channelling The Band, Neil Young and the aforementioned Will Oldham in equal measures to provide a deeply satisfying listening experience that references nothing in modern music and is all the better for it. The only downside is this recording is a mere 28 minutes long. Hey dudes, how about a bit more content next time - they don't call it a Long Playing Album for nothing!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My personal classics, September 20, 2007

By 

Michael Campbell's Enlarged Piles (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fading Trails (Audio CD)

For me, it's a bit hard to be unbiased with any Molina related effort. I love all of his albums, both under the Songs: Ohia, and Magnolia Electric Co. monikers.
As far as it treading similar ground, as long as his music keeps this high a caliber, and he keeps singing in that blustery midwestern croon, I'm as happy as a lark. The brevity of the album bespeaks a restraint that comes with knowing anything extra would just be filler. 'Fading Trails' is weighed perfectly with songs that have already become my personal classics, and are a joy to listen to on every spin.

"You can't lose it all at once, can you really?"