Ease Down the Road

Bonnie Prince Billy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 3, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Palace Records
• ASIN: B00005AKGL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,431 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The second installment of Will Oldham songs recorded under his nom de plume of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Ease Down the Road finds Oldham playing his quintessential role as the crack-voiced acoustic troubadour. He is backed by a drunken choir and a rickety orchestra featuring, among others, brother Ned Oldham, avant-garde director Harmony Korine, Papa M's David Pajo, and a gaggle of longtime musical comrades from Oldham's first group, Palace. In comparison to the first Bonnie "Prince" album--the spectral I See a Darkness--the mood is warm, playful, and concerned mainly with love, infidelity, and the joys of the flesh; "She's a fine looking lady, and she likes to go down on me," croaks Oldham on "A King at Night," "And I like to go down on her too..." Lewdness aside, though, there's much to recommend Oldham's latest incarnation as a serious artist, rather than some lo-fi freak, suitable only for a niche audience; the lazy, sleep-encrusted love balladry of "Break of Day" drags on the castoffs of a raggedly clothed Bob Dylan, while "After I Made Love to You" gently embraces the gospel tradition, albeit a gospel to the joys of infidelity, with Oldham whispering of "doing something filthy / in a rented room tonight". He's made better albums, but Ease Down the Road finds this lo-fi Lothario reclining into a comfortably gritty middle age. --Louis Pattison

Product Description

The key word for this release is 'ease'. Featuring a dozen musicians of varying ability and physical appeal. Of course the key player is Will Oldham. With songs such as 'At The Break Of Day' and 'After I Made Love To You', Oldham spits out standards for the next age. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A million more miles..., April 10, 2001

By 

Rob Damm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ease Down the Road (Audio CD)

Oldham's songs have always sounded as if they have lived for generations, under rocks, in the mud, just gestating and mutating. In the past, the minimalist "production" (lack thereof, actually) was an essential element in the Oldham sound... the hiss of analog tape somehow adding to the strange but massive emotional gravity of the songs.

I've folowed Oldham since "Days In the Wake" and managed to collect just about everything he's released. The first thing that stikes a long-time fan is that this album is a million miles from where he started. Sure, songwriting-wise, the oblique, minor-key paeans are still intact, but now, the production is densely layered-- female vox, strings, chimes--- It's not exactly Pet Sounds, but there is quite a bit going on sonically. The songs sound crisp, jumping out of the speakers, but some may miss the ragged immediacy of Oldham's old-style recordings. I'm conflicted, because I did regard the shoddy sound quality as an essential part of Oldham's vision. I think he has grown more confident as a songwriter (and also probably a little richer and able to afford better gear) and he feels he can give up the "gimmic" of hissy recordings. Fine, the songs stand up. It worked on "I See a Darkness" and it works here too. Will has also obviously taken singing lessons over the years, and his voice doesn't seem to crack like it used to as he strains for the high notes--- whatever he does, I've always thought he was one of the most original *singers* in music, really making his limited voice an asset rather than a limitation.

The album, while different, is amazing. The songs are among his best. Tilted, with lyrical twists and turns. Lovely, spare melodies. This may be an album that wins him wider recognition, as the sound quality is remarakable and it sounds more accesible. Fans will need to get used to it, but will find the gold buried beneath the layers of production... it's like Will's "Born In The USA"--- brilliant, brooding songs in a pop-disguise.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars viva will oldham, April 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Ease Down the Road (Audio CD)

Once again, the prolific Will Oldham & friends (aka palace, palace music, palace brothers, etc.) bring us some of the most heartfelt gothic folk this side of the 1970's. If the mediocre bar band aesthetics of what is loosely classified as the alt.country movement has left you groggily reconsidering last year's purchase of a cowboy hat, sweat no more. Bonnie "Prince" Billy is the Cormac McCarthy to Jeff Tweedy's Larry McMurtry.

"Ease Down the Road" finds Oldham doing just that; this time around, the songs are less moody, more lush and cushy, like the audio equivalent of the smell of tall grass, or the sweet burn of kentucky whiskey. I suspect Dave Pajo (aka Papa M, Aerial M, etc.), who is credited with co-producing, played a significant role in forging what is arguably Oldham's most assured recording since Viva Last Blues.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest American songwriters of all time., September 11, 2001

By 

"verill" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ease Down the Road (Audio CD)

Over the past 9 years or so, Will Oldham became one of the greatest songwriters not only of his generation, and "Ease down the road" contains some of his very best material so far - period.

"Just to see my holly home", my personal soundtrack of this years summer, and the wonderful "After I made love to you", one of the most sensitive and touching lovesongs I've ever heard, with Oldham's cracky, beautiful voice accompanied by Catherine Irwin, are two of the strongest songs of this fantastic album.

"Ease down the road" is the best record for a lonely evening, along with a bottle of wine and a beautiful sundown. So, please enjoy it and be happy and love thy neighbour !