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Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Billy
The Brave and the Bold
Domino
Article
written by Matt H
Feb 2, 2006.
He's a restless one, Will Oldham. Left to himself he's one of the finest songwriters of recent years. But he's never been able to sit still - constantly refreshing his work through collaborations with the great and sometimes not-so-good. Hooking up with Tortoise was bound to produce one of the more interesting ones. And embarking on a cover versions project promised to make it more listenable than some.
Yes and no. This certainly passes the first test of cover version project -there's very little by way of a straight version. Ok so Mike Watts' It's Expected I'm Gone might just fuzz up over a familiar minuteman bass, but Daniel (yes, that Daniel) is given a breakbeat and post rock twiddling makeover - topped off with a distant transistor radio vocal. Thunder Road likewise wanders far from its source - with a laid back freaky Californian vibe, though one that somehow emphasises the sheer quality of Springsteen's writing in a way that I, at least, had never heard before.
Not everything works - Devo's That's Pep! lacks a bit of, well, pep really. Pep never has been much of a feature of Oldham's voice. Ironically it's the straighter versions that work best - Oldham's voice being distinctive enough to bring something new to a song on its own. Some Say (I Got Devil) stumbles timelessly forwards and Pancho is simply sweet - and neatly contemporary in the time of Brokeback Mountain.
These apart it's not an easy record to get to grips with, but half of it at least rewards your efforts.
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