Title: Susanna and Bonny Billy sing...
Format: 7" Single
Label: n/a
Year of Release: 2009
Tracklisting
A (I'll Love You) Forever And Ever (3:14)
B In Spite of Ourselves (3:22)
Two country duets are covered on this tour 7", the first by Buck Owens, the second John Prine.
The Susanna, by the way, is Susanna Karolina Wallumrød, also of Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, and two of her songs are cover by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on the more recent Stay 7" (link to my review to follow).
Both tracks are sparse affairs, plucked acoustic and occasional electric guitars staying very much in the background, as these two love songs explore commitment from different angles.
Forever And Ever approaches the topic from the "I'll love you so long that this unlikely thing will have happened by then" angle. So the sun will stop shining, sea run dry, etc. etc. All very nice, except for a nasty guitar solo in the middle, which sounds like it was played by someone with a rudimentary understanding of playing in key.
In Spite of Ourselves comes from the side of commitment despite, or possible because of faults, and is also much earthier than the A-side's high-falutin', conceptually perfect love. Sample lyric: "Ain't been laid in a month of Sundays/I caught him once he was sniffin' my undies". I guess this song inspired the visual jokes on the sleeve.
There is better chemistry between the singers here than on Among the Gold, which I think suffered from being too caught up in the idea of itself. This release makes a good tour 7" - something extra and unexpected, which can allow itself to be fun and trivial. It doesn't treat its source material reverentially, (why would it?) and for that reason comes recommended.
