Now i'm a bit of a BPB fanatic and admit that I am far from impartial in these matters, however I think everyone who listens to his new album will agree that it is the best of the year so far...probably the best album of the last 5 years......maybe even 10 years....hell, it's the best album of all time!!!!For a number of years I have been trying to introduce my friends and work colleagues to Will Oldham's huge back catalogue with absolutely no success. Comments have usually ranged from "feckin depressing out of tune dirges" to "Don't ever speak to me again, weirdo!". Despite this I still think Will is one of the best singer songwriters the world has ever seen and time and time again he manages to produce albums of hauntingly powerful songs. On this album Will's fragile vocals are perfectly complimented by Ashley Webber and the whole thing feels like you are sitting in your favourite remote pub, in front of a roaring fire, in the middle of winter, glass of laphroaig in hand, friends and family scattered round and Will & Ashley singing just for you.
Does he have a great singing voice.....no. Is he a fantastic guitar player....no. Is he handsome with a Hollywood smile.....no. Is he a fabulous songwriter with a warped, dark and compelling outlook on life......you bet.
OK, so I may be exaggerating about this being the best album of all time but it should be a must have for everyones music collection.
2 comments:
I'm listening as I write - it's very good - excellent in fact, but very obviously influenced by all the old hippie bands you laugh at - the Grateful Dead, Byrds, Gram Parsons, CSNY, Burrito Brothers, Love, Tim Buckley, Gene Clark etc etc - and certainly none the worse for that - for example, have you ever heard the Dead's 'Workingman's Dead' or David Crosby's "If Only I Could Remember My Name"?
I'm a convert.
I would never claim to be a Deadhead but I do indeed have a copy of the fantastic Workingman's Dead, however I have never found myself lured into buying any David Crosby. For some reason the name David Crosby conjures up a picture of a large sheepskin coat (is that from one of your album covers?).
Like all people moving into their 40's I have noticed a major shift in my listening tastes. I now find myself skipping through the Pixies, Nirvana, Zep, Clash and AC/DC tracks on my MP3 player and settling down to some Wilco, Bonnie Prince Billy, Death Cab for Cutie or Elliot Smith.
Must go now....Catherine says my hot Cocoa is ready.
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