What I Do Well

Boring Prince Billy? Never thought I'd say that, but ever since Mr. Oldham tied the knot a couple of years back the edge seems to have gone out of his music. Coincidence? Who knows, but all I can say is he just doesn't move me the way he used to do, and he used to move me a lot. Bonnie may have made a place alright, but the also made the damp squib of the year.

Bonnie Prince Billy - Squid Eye

Grey With Years

His recent marriage and the resulting domestic bliss are probably the reason our Will isn't as prolific nowadays as he used to be. And even his new Songs Of Love And Horror isn't really new in a way, as it finds him mainly looking back acoustically on his own oeuvre. It's always nice to hear the bonnie lad though, especially on this lovely a capella cover of an old Richard & Linda Thompson tune. For further reading: here's an interesting recent profile in Rolling Stone magazine.

Will Oldham - Strange Affair

For Sure

A writer's block for our Bonnie Prince? After last May's rather lacklustre collection of Merle Haggard interpretations, Knoxville's finest has now surprisingly decided to cover the whole of Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrød's Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos album. A polished and somewhat subdued affair prominently featuring banjo and violin, Wolf Of The Cosmos has its moments, like the hopeful track below.

Bonnie Prince Billy - Better Days

Très Belle

A French chansonnier, doing it the Americana way? Check out Baptiste W. Hamon from Paris. The first track is an intriguing duet with the one and only Bonnie Prince Billy, while the second one movingly pays homage to his all-time idol. Got good taste, this mac.

Baptiste W. Hamon - Comme La Vie Est Belle
Baptiste W. Hamon - Van Zandt

Just A Seeker

Let's stay in Louisville a while longer to visit  Will 'Bonnie Prince Billy' Oldham, who has just cooked up a fresh batch of Merle Haggard covers. No surprise there, as he regards the late country legend as one of his 'forever heroes'. Sadly, for the second time in a row here's a Bonnie Billy album that doesn't really do it for me. It's not bad mind, and the arrangements - with saxes and flutes no less - are quite adventurous, but in the end it just made me want to give my trusted Hag records another spin.

Bonnie Prince Billy - I Am What I Am

Except For You

That huge new Grateful Dead covers collection for the Red Hot Organisation sure is a lot to take in. Here's one of the stand-out tracks for me so far, featuring a remarkably mellow Bonnie Billy in a lesser-known song from the Dead canon.

Bonnie Prince Billy & Friends - Rubin And Cherise

He Is Coming

Very welcome and out now on the mighty Drag City label: Pond Scum, a fine collection of stark and intimate performances by our bonnie lad Will Oldham, recorded way back when at a couple of John Peel's famous sessions. And guess what? He even pays homage to another Prince.

Bonnie Prince Billy - The Cross

Love Somebody

As endorsed by Will Oldham in a cool recent list of favourite albums. Bonnie statement: "It is my firm belief that Glen Campbell could not speak to (even prior to the Alzheimer's) his insane abilities as a singer and guitar player, while Webb can and does speak excessively about his own abilities as a songwriter and producer. It is our good fortune that they encountered each other."

Glen Campbell - It's A Sin

Pieces Of Kindness

As before on Greatest Palace Music and Now Here's My Plan, our Will decided on the brand new Singer's Grave - A Sea Of Tongues to re-record a couple of songs from his back catalogue, most of them from the acclaimed Wolfroy Goes To Town (2011). Not because he was unhappy with the originals so much I guess, but rather because he recognized the potential to do something different with them. For an example, check out the two versions of We Are Unhappy - the first one quite subdued, the second much more exuberant - below and see what you think.

Bonnie Prince Billy - We Are Unhappy (Wolfroy version)
Bonnie Prince Billy - We Are Unhappy (Singer's version)

How It's Been

"Lie there by the fire and watch the evening tire..." Dawn and Will delicately tackle John Denver by way of the Everlys. Hang around some.

Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie Prince Billy - Poems, Prayers And Promises

Never Lost Together

Never a dull moment with mr. Oldham. This time around our bonnie prince recorded a breathtaking, acoustic solo album without a title which - and here it comes - he distributed in person to just one record store, in his native city of Louisville, Kentucky. Cool, huh? No idea if this will ever be released on a broader scale, so you just have to try and track down a copy (vinyl and cassette only) somewhere I guess. Happy hunting!

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Triumph Of Will

In Stitches

"I am a racing horse, I am a grazing horse, I am your favorite horse..." Plain and simple brilliance from the Oldham stable.

Palace Brothers - No More Workhorse Blues

Human Soul

Do buy that book on Bonnie Prince Billy/Will Oldham I told you about recently. Just finished it, and although we're talking about an extensive series of interviews with Alan Licht here, for a hardcore Bonnie fan like me it read just like a novel. Quite a remarkable guy, our Billy... Goes deep.
One cool quote out of many: "What is normally called religion is what I would tend to call music - participating in music, listening to music, making records and singing. I think records and music are more appropriate and more respectful of the human soul than the churches are. And more respectful of the needs of humans to communicate with the aspects of themselves that are neglected by language. I don't think people think about god so much as they think about themselves and how they're going to get through life." Right on, bro.
And while we're at it, here's the title track of Bonnie's most recent offering, the 4-track Hummingbird ep, which came out on the happening Spiritual Pajamas label. Song's a fine take on an old Leon Russell swamper.

Bonnie Prince Billy - Hummingbird, Pt. 1
Leon Russell - Hummingbird

Funtown

To paraphrase Steve Earle´s famous remark on Townes Van Zandt: Will Oldham aka Bonnie Prince Billy is one of the greatest modern-day musicians around, and I´ll stand on Beck´s coffee table in my Onitsuka Tigers and say that. But hey, he´ll probably agree.

Anyway: Bonnie Prince Billy will soon release his second album of the year, and that´s great news. Entitled Funtown Comedown, and available on vinyl and as a download only, it´ll feature a mix of Bonnie classics and covers performed live with Louisville locals The Picket Line. So you´d better hoof it pronto to these fine folks over at Drag City, one of my fave record labels for well over a decade now, as they´ve got an exclusive track not on the album available for free download. You´ll be amazed by the remarkably loose and upbeat sound I guess. Very promising.

While we´re waiting, here are some fun guest appearances of the prolific lion of Louisville. Covering a Buck Owens tune with Susanna, building bridges with Angie Hart, hiphopping with Sage Francis, going ambient in Iceland with Valgeir Sigurðsson, doing the lofi with the Sundowners, or comforting Scout Niblett: it´s all good.

Bonnie Prince Billy & Susanna - (I´ll Love You) Forever And Ever MP3

Angie Hart - Little Bridges MP3

Sage Francis - Sea Lion MP3

Valgeir Sigurðsson - Evolution Of Waters MP3

Sundowners - Turkey Vulture MP3

Scout Niblett - Comfort You MP3