Artist: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Title: Sings Greatest Palace Music
Format: Double LP
Label: Drag City /Palace Records
Catalogue Number: DC252/PR31
Year of Release: 2004
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Tracklisting
A1 New Partner
A2 Ohio River Boat Song
A3 Gulf Shores
A4 You Will Miss Me When I Burn
A5 The Brute Choir
B1 I Send My Love To You
B2 More Brother Rides
B3 Agnes, Queen Of Sorrow
B4 Viva Ultra
B5 Pushkin
C1 Horses
C2 Riding
C3 West Palm Beach
C4 No More Workhorse Blues
C5 I Am A Cinematographer
The Pitchfork review of this album is interesting, as usual, although I don't wholly agree. I guess I don't see what's wrong with enjoying Merle Haggard's 16 Biggest Hits, and don't think you should necessarily bow to the prevailing view of 'country aficionados'. You should stand by what you like, for your own reasons.
I genuinely like what Will Oldham has done on this record. The project, in essence, was to update a selection of songs, voted for by fans, from the back catalogue of tracks released under the various Palace guises. 21 in total were recorded, and these 15 are the ones Will liked best. They've been done in a consciously Nashville style, and as one reviewer points out "wouldn't sound out of place on commercial country radio circa 1989".
Some songs survive the process more than others, More Brother Rides and Viva Ultra having a similar feel to the originals. Others are completely transformed - the horn sections on I Am A Cinematographer and New Partner threatening to turn them into comic pieces, the quacking on I Send My Love To You succeeding in that.
But there's nothing wrong with having fun! And there's no point wringing your hands over whether you should like it or not, or trying to second-guess Bonnie's intentions (Is he deliberately alienating me? Is he toying with the concept of alter egos? Is this a comment on commercialisation? ... Who knows, who cares?)
My suggestion is not to over-think it, just put it on and gets lost in its twangy depths. If you want to listen to the originals, they still exist, so go and do that. If you want to hear what Agnes, Queen of Sorrow sounds like as a Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers-style ballad, then dive in.
Here are some interviews, from the period:
Chad Radford
Dusted
Mojo article at Drag City Press
