Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Track Listings
| 1. Love Comes To Me |
| 2. Strange Form Of Life |
| 3. Wai |
| 4. Cursed Sleep |
| 5. No Bad News |
| 6. Cold And Wet |
| 7. Big Friday |
| 8. Lay and Love |
| 9. The Seedling |
| 10. Then The Letting Go |
| 11. God's Small Song |
| 12. I Called You Back |
| 13. (Untitled) |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Will Oldham duets with Dawn McCarthy on atmospheric - and accessible - collection
24 Jun 2007
By C. O'Brien
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
The prolific prince of the indescribable, Will Oldham has shapeshifted his way through album after album of delicately profound Americana. It's often said that the mark of genius is the ability to be unbearably moving with very little, and Oldham's shortcomings as a singer and musician are also his greatest strengths. His music is elusive, resisting categorisation: you can call it folk, you can call it alt/country, but Superwolf, last year's collaboration with Matt Sweeney, was all smouldering sexuality and yearning blues.
This album is cooler and sweeter, recorded in Reykjavik under the aegis of Bjork collaborator Valgier Sigurdsson. The arrangements are more complex than perhaps we're used to from a Prince Billy album - strings, flugelhorn and piano spin a subtle but strong tracery of shapes around the musical themes. Singer Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables provides an airy soprano counterpoint to Oldham's fragile growl, adding a clearer outline to many of the odder melodies.
The songs are as various as ever. Album opener Love Comes To Me is almost unbearable tender, breathing belief in human love in a world where religious faith has been lost. Cold and Wet has a bluesy, lubricious feel. No Bad News is redolent of 70s golden-age folk, Oldham's close-miked murmured intimacy contrasting with McCarthy's layered birdsong. Strange Form of Life has such a powerful instrumental hook that it seems more like a lead-off single than the haunted, Superwolf-like Cursed Sleep.
After a bit of a mid-section sag, the album really hits its stride again with the earthily rhythmic Seedling. The track which follows, Then The Letting Go is utterly exquisite, with McCarthy's vocal responses soaring like Sandy Denny's in The Battle of Evermore.
Perhaps the most accessible Bonnie Prince Billy album so far, The Letting Go will bewitch both old and new enthusiasts of Will Oldham's beguiling and inexplicable talent.
as published at subba-cultcha.com
This album is cooler and sweeter, recorded in Reykjavik under the aegis of Bjork collaborator Valgier Sigurdsson. The arrangements are more complex than perhaps we're used to from a Prince Billy album - strings, flugelhorn and piano spin a subtle but strong tracery of shapes around the musical themes. Singer Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables provides an airy soprano counterpoint to Oldham's fragile growl, adding a clearer outline to many of the odder melodies.
The songs are as various as ever. Album opener Love Comes To Me is almost unbearable tender, breathing belief in human love in a world where religious faith has been lost. Cold and Wet has a bluesy, lubricious feel. No Bad News is redolent of 70s golden-age folk, Oldham's close-miked murmured intimacy contrasting with McCarthy's layered birdsong. Strange Form of Life has such a powerful instrumental hook that it seems more like a lead-off single than the haunted, Superwolf-like Cursed Sleep.
After a bit of a mid-section sag, the album really hits its stride again with the earthily rhythmic Seedling. The track which follows, Then The Letting Go is utterly exquisite, with McCarthy's vocal responses soaring like Sandy Denny's in The Battle of Evermore.
Perhaps the most accessible Bonnie Prince Billy album so far, The Letting Go will bewitch both old and new enthusiasts of Will Oldham's beguiling and inexplicable talent.
as published at subba-cultcha.com
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By James Choles
Format:Audio CD
While this isn't the definitive BPB album [there is nothing here to match the majesty of I See a Darkness, for example], The Letting Go is a fantastic record, and one that rewards repeated listens.
At times it sounds very similar to Master and Everyone, Oldham's last album proper [before his Dylan-esque live album Summer in the Southeast and the collaborations with Matt Sweeney and Tortoise].
The difference here, and one that has polarised opinion, is the addition of Dawn McCarthy, who provides harmony on most tracks. Personally I think she sounds great, especially on Strange Form of Life and Lay and Love, for example. The overall sound is also rich and many-layered - a world away from the starkness of Oldham's early Palace recordings.
So, if not quite a masterpiece, then another fine album from one of America's greatest songwriters.
At times it sounds very similar to Master and Everyone, Oldham's last album proper [before his Dylan-esque live album Summer in the Southeast and the collaborations with Matt Sweeney and Tortoise].
The difference here, and one that has polarised opinion, is the addition of Dawn McCarthy, who provides harmony on most tracks. Personally I think she sounds great, especially on Strange Form of Life and Lay and Love, for example. The overall sound is also rich and many-layered - a world away from the starkness of Oldham's early Palace recordings.
So, if not quite a masterpiece, then another fine album from one of America's greatest songwriters.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
don't know what all you naysayers are going on about. It might even be my favourite Will Oldham album - yes, including There Is A Darkness. Deffo the best thing he's done since then, at any rate. Having read reviews I was expecting the backing vocals to drown out everything, but they are well-placed in the mix throughout. Aren't they? Well, I like it.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 21 reviews
4.3 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whispering Genius
Will Oldham aka Bonnie Prince Billy is a man of many musical shadings. His talent is beyond question yet the accessibility of his work often leaves people feeling like they have... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brian Hamilton
3.0 out of 5 stars
not bad
the album has a strong opening which unfortunately doesn't carry through into the rest of the songs. Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by A. CRAIG
4.0 out of 5 stars
Baked Alaska
Will Oldham welcomes Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables on guest-vocal duty for this frosty release, which is paradoxically easier to love than its predecessor, Master And Everyone,... Read more
Published on 7 May 2009 by Gannon
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Masterpiece It So Wants to Be
All the stars seem to perfectly align on "Cursed Sleep" and unfortunately nothing else on The Letting Go comes close to matching the lush, epic, crescendo arrangement and... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2006 by DMc
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frequently played in my house!
This is just what you'd hope from BPB at his best: Proper, grown up music, full of subtlety and charm.
Published on 4 Oct 2006 by SWM
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
I agree with the previous reviewer - the choice of backing vocalist seriously detracted from my enjoyment of this record. Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2006 by Patrick Kirk
4.0 out of 5 stars
Complex and beautiful
'Letting Go' is a significant step for Oldham, it is sung mostly as duets and features more instrumentation and variety than the minimal earlier albums. Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2006 by B. A. Woodhouse
1.0 out of 5 stars
God Awful Backing Vocals
God Awful Backing Vocals absolutely destroy each and every song. The backing vocals are unbelievably bad totally unoriginal making this record un listenable. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2006 by Sean Canavan
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than just Bonnie....beautiful
Just for the record (no pun intended) I am a big Will Oldham fan and I would probably give him 4 stars for coughing. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2006 by old willham
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delicate, shockingly beautiful
This record caught me unprepared. I've been an Oldham fan for nearly 10 years, and loved many of his albums - those of recent years have been excellent (e.g. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2006 by Matthew Kirkcaldie
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
