Customer Reviews

I See A Darkness

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my first review of a Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album. I chose to review this album first because I think it's simply my favorite in his catalog that I've heard.

I would say that 90 percent of this album sounds exactly like my thoughts throughout a normal day. It's sadly beautiful and hopeful simultaneously. "I See A Darkness" is the type of song that makes you want to reflect on life and your inner thoughts. It's an ode to life.

These songs are sung with such heartfelt beauty and passion that's almost immeasurable to compare this with any other artist. Will shares a lot of his thoughts and feelings with us in his music. He has a "no-holds barred" approach that is sure to catch any listener's attention.

All the songs on this album are part of something bigger. One listen and you'll know that you've found an album with integrity and purity. It will probably get you through a lot of times in your life if you allow it to. Either way, this will be an album that you will not soon forget.

"Death To Everyone" is one of the most powerful tracks on this album. It also happens to be one of my favorites as well. If it absolutely doesn't pierce your soul, you may not have even been listening and don't deserve to go any further with this album. I would assume that most fans have heard Will's other work and most put this at very least towards the top. Oldham has really paved a path for what he wants to get across in his music. I would venture to say that people will study this work for many years to come.

If you've heard of Bonnie 'Prince' Billy/Will Oldham or are intrigued by what you've heard about him in general, this is definitely an album you should check out. Of course, he's got so many I guess you could start anywhere. Are any of them bad? No. My opinion would be to start here. If you don't become instantly fond of this work, you may not need to get anything else by him.

Attracted by the hideous cover in combination with the word Palace made me push the button on the listening pole.

After 20 seconds I knew enough to buy this record.

Coming home I realised this was brain meltingly beautiful. Believe me, artists like Neil Young and Van Morrison are praying each night that they could once more make an album like this. Just once and then die.

If you're getting fed up with all the average releases in the past 18 months, with one or two nice songs, no consistency, dollarsigns in the eye, etc. Try this. They still come out: classics.

No genre (please reviewers, don't try , please don't try), no influences, no relation, just the music.

Here's an artist that is able to laugh at and exploit his own blues. The ultimate bipolar person.

I would give a finger if somebody told me I could never hear the title song "I see a darkness" again.

Music is not larger than life, but it is with scaringly beautiful melodies like this and the mess you see around you that you know: it would not harm if it was.

And anyway, the best songs on this album make you feel music and love are larger than life.

If Shakespeare would have put songelements like "Death to everyone is gonna come" in his plays, they would now be famous lines. So how about it in 1999???????????????/

Why do autumn albums like these always come out in spring?

PS I am very interested to know which CD's the reviewer who gave this album three stars would rate five stars. Either this would be sufferers where the talent has gone out or never been in or secret music I've never heard of. Please tell me, I would buy all of it, sight unseen!

A beautiful album. I can never get over how Will's horrible voice can always, and I mean always, touch me in a place that few singers have.

If you buy one album this year and you fancy yourself a music afficionado, make sure it's this one. I have found this album to be gentle beyond Leonard Cohen's finest hour. The lyricism is total intelligence wrapped in 11th hour moods. Carefully produced the final mix levels and production are the finest of Will Oldham's career. There is a hint of Shawn Phillips melody and meticulousness here. This is a rare find, it will become a landmark album in the post this and post that era. I can only bestow sincere adulation upon this artist, and inform him that I am looking forward to the next album.

The music on this album is introspective, gloomy, fearful and forboding of a sense of approaching evil. If music was ever to be descrbed as dark then this would be it.. Nevertheless one can't help but be uplifted and energised by the beauty realised in the songs. In particular the first four tracks are extaordinarily beautiful and melodic (almost mystical) - this must be the complete realisation of Oldham's unique musical vision - a distillation of the un-hinged country folk he has crafted as his own...

This is an extraordinary album - a difficult listen for sure but one which is ultimately as rewarding as anything likely to be heard this year. File under 'transcedental' alongside 'Astral weeks', 'Tonights the night' and 'John Wesley Harding'

This album normally gets lumped into the genre of "folk" or the even more broad "indie rock," but a more fitting classification would be "collection of songs that haunt you more and more with each listen." The intimacy of this album is its most appealing feature, as listening to it through headphones gives you the feeling that you are actually in the room as Oldham and the guys are recording. The songs, specifically the title track and the closer, "Raining in Darling" are exceptional stand alone songs, but also work great within the context of the album. It seems to drag a bit during the second half, but sometimes this is advantageous, as it is difficult to listen to the album all the way through in one sitting.

I just recently purchased this alubm and it fits in with what I would expect from a decent Palace release. There are a few songs (death to everyone , song for the new breed) that are well above most of the stuff from mr. Oldham.

The Man In Black's cover of the title track was a thing of beauty.Now hear the original. Where Cash made it a story of a man grappling with infirmity & impeding death, Will Oldham's original is far more disturbing but just as powerful. Here the song is a prophetic warning of an unmentionable darkness the protagonist is helpless to control. As for what that "darkness" is, well that's for the listener to decide. The end result is mysterious, unsettling & downright moving.

Without a doubt, this is "Bonny Prince Billy" a.ka. "Palace" a.ka. Will Oldham's finest hour. The erratic, low-fi charms of his earlier works had flashes of brilliance, but there was plenty of self-indulgance to wade through. Here, it all comes together. On first listen, things like "A Minor Place" & "Evil One" might come off as downright chipper amidst dirges like "Black" & "Knockturne". But given the time of day, there's plenty of word play & humor at work. In other words, you have to go to him---he won't come to you.

Granted, Oldahm's vocals aren't everyone's cup of tea. I suppose you could say he's a warbly cross between Neil Young & Leonard Cohen, often struggling to stay on key. If there's anything compelling to be found in that, then Oldham's mastered it. Musically, he lays his songs out there as quiet & bare as possible. In times past, some songs came off as mere sketches. Though perhaps all-too-brief, "Raining In Darling" is likely to leave you wanting for more.

If Oldham were a speed metal freak, " Death To Everyone" could he a headbanger's anthem, but he slyly keeps the sentiment just above a whisper, making it all the more powerful.

Like very early Tom Waits or Nick Drake, Oldham's albums all share the same pervasive after hours mood, a sombre twilight world, that has it's fair share of subtle rewards once you lay your ear close to his door. If this wins you over, then proceed immediately to MASTER & EVERYONE or the recently released SUPERWOLF. Then maybe you'll be ready to dip into the likes of his Palace Brothers era.

A somber heartfelt night-time winter classic.Great lyrics, great shaky voice.For some reason I think I can hear the backing musicians total belief in this project when I hear the songs.It just SOUNDS right.If you find a friend that can appreciate music of this quality, KEEP that friend.This is some special stuff.

This is a great album, clearly in line with the progression that Will Oldham has been making throughout his career. For a first time listener, this would be the perfect introduction--it's musical as hell, very accessible (compared with the 'There is noone what...' or 'Days in the Wake'), but still contains the Palace/Will Oldham joy/gloom/death/redemption themes found in all of his work. The essence of what has made all of the Palace/Will Oldham stuff interesting for me--perfect turns of phrase and image in the lyrics coupled with awkward vocal phrasings in the singing is also found in abundance (imagine, if you haven't heard it before, Blake being read by a hillbilly and you get some idea of the contrast). The album cover is indicative of the theme inside. With song titles like 'Death to Everyone', 'Black', and 'Another Day Full of Dread', parts of this album are as dark as those Black Metal bands wish they could be. But Oldham has an uncanny way of finding the beauty even in the darkest.