Customer Reviews

The Letting Go

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This might be the best CD that has come out this year. It may be Will Oldham's best CD since "Viva Last Blues." It may be better than "Viva Last Blues" although these are two different styled CDs. "The letting go" has a mostly very mellow sound. Almost every song is beautiful. The string and guitar melodies are uplifting. Will Oldham's voice is grounding, it is the familiar voice you have heard for the past decade or so. Dawn McCarthy's voice will then again lift you up. McCarthy's voice is a fantastic companion to Oldham's. Other singers/bands have tried to use a female voice to echo or accompany the lead vocal and it has often become irritating. This is not the case with "the letting go," McCarthy's accompaniment adds so much to the album but without taking away from Oldham. I haven't listened to a Will Oldham album since "Ease down the Road." This makes me want to go back and listen to those albums I have missed. One song in particular, "The Seedling" (I believe) has a different sound than the rest of the album. It has a harsher sound, but is still a good song.
This is a great introduction if you are new to Oldham or if you are returning listener.

The Letting Go has more than its fair share of hauntingly, achingly beautiful moments. It may be a cliche at this point to use the words "haunting" and "aching" in a review of Will Oldham's music, but music like this defies easy description (as Oldham's lyrics avoid easy, literal narratives), being so unlike anything out there. These songs evoke exquisitly beautiful emotional landscapes composed of memory, dreams, longing, desire, regret, hope, composed in lyrics hinting at the subconscious desires, fears, and haunted dreams of each song's voice. The music itself traverses many musical lands, sometimes within the same song, recalling bleak Nordic vistas (mainly), the Southern delta, and even Renaissance England. The instruments, almost entirely acoustic (with the exception of electric guitar), are perfectly suited to the songs, with a heavy emphasis on strings (guitar, violin, cello) that pair perfectly with the tremor in Oldham's voice. Will Oldham is obviously not satisfied to travel down musical roads already well mapped out. Thankfully, since in pursuit of his experimental muse he has taken himself, and us his listeners, to some strange and gorgeous places. It is a shame that one or two reviewers with an adolescent appreciation of music can alter the number of stars a work like The Letting Go receives overall, but in any case it is only an Amazon review. This music doesn't need any other affirmation other than its own inherent qualities. It speaks for itself.

This CD is for me, Will Oldham's finest thus far as a solo artist. It has all the sleepy, druggy quality you expect from him, but the backing vocals here provide a crystalline, almost fairport-convention-ish counterpoint to Oldham's soft, broken-in, guy-down-the-block-who's-deeper-than-you-thought-he-was voice. Will is crunchier than crunchy in terms of his hippiedom these days, but the music never suffers from hippie pretensions. The way he pronounces "stairs" on "Bad News" alone should tell you all you need to know about him and his "thing." To those who are mystified or put to sleep by this, you've missed a key factor in appreciating this stuff: it's meant to be modern folk music for mellow times. It isn't party music, and doesn't attempt to "rock" at all, and that's OK. He does three songs IN A ROW in waltz time, for chrissakes. The real kicker is that Oldham is so accomplished at 3/4 that you don't even notice until the third waltz that that's what you're hearing. This record has charms that many "mainstream" listeners might miss, and that's OK. If you wear sweatpants and watch "American Idol" and find Paris Hilton fascinating and are all broken up over the death of Anna Nicole Smith, this CD ain't for you. You may listen to your Coldplay and feel "sophisticated" and leave Bonnie Prince Billy alone, thanks very much. If you like to put on music, lay down and close your eyes and actually LISTEN and be transported somewhere, then you probably already own this. If you don't, then purchase it with all speed. It's mellow and satisfying, like drinking good red wine or reading a good mid-period Richard Brautigan novel. Nice.

While this disc is not as good as "I See a Darkness" (certainly a member of the proverbial "deserted island disc list"), "The Letting Go" is terrific. BPB is so creatively prolific, giving his fans twists and turns that are almost always welcome (the disc with Tortoise is an odd choice, however). Standout tracks include "Love Comes to Me", "Cursed Sleep" and the title track, which maintains BPB's mystique as much as anything he's ever written. Any fan of Americana should begin to include the work of BPB in their disc collection. As a fellow with more than 500 discs, I can safely say that there isn't much more rewarding, thought-provoking music in my collection.

When I was told that this album had strings on it to accompany the guitar, I was skeptical. Then I listened to it. The string accompaniment works beautifully. I don't know from what well Will Oldham draws the emotion with which he has performed album after album, but it runs deep and dark. The Letting Go is just another in his long line of exceptional albums that consistently deliver in terms of songwriting, music, and performance. I whole-heartedly recommend this album to both new listeners and long-time fans.

The Letting Go is a must for fans of the 'Bonnie' Prince, and is a true gem in his highly impressive catalog. I have all of Will Oldham's albums with the execption of Joya, and they are all good, but this one is very special. The song writing is outstanding, and his harmonies with Dawn McCarthy are amazing. Anyone familiar with Mr. Oldhams' work under the 'Bonnie' Prince name knows his work is slow moving and emotive, and The Letting Go is similar, but is even more stirring than any of his previous work. This album has a highly cinematic feel to it, almost as if it's a soundtrack for some Oscar winning movie about timeless love or something. Like most 'Bonnie' Prince records this one takes a few listens to really get into and be able to appreciate the depth of musical and poetic skill of this artist, but it is worth the time. Get this one now! Seriously!!

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy reste, avec cet album, l'un des songwriter les plus innovant et exigent de ces deux dernières decennies. Auteur (acteur ?) de haute volée, à consommer sans mondération.

More layered and involved than "Master and Everyone" (my only other Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), "The Letting Go" is a beautiful and sometimes haunting work, masterfully blending folk, pop, country, and blues. Lyrically, he's gone off the deep end (not a complaint!) since "Master": I love the way he sees dead people flying in the sky in the opening lines of "Love Comes to Me"--or maybe he just senses the souls of the dead on the wings of birds. Throughout the album his lyrics tend toward surrealistic and stream-of-consciousness imagery. It took me a couple of listens before I figured out that "The Seedling" (should have been clue!) is primarily about a sex act--so obscure is method of addressing it. Oh--and the music's first-rate, too. For me, "Cursed Love" and "Lay and Love" are the finest tracks, the former opening with a gorgeous melange of guitar and strings, the latter making use of an intriguing synthesized drum sound. What a wise choice bringing in the sublime Dawn McCarthy for accompanying vocals! "The Letting Go" wouldn't have been nearly as emotive without her considerable talent. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy himself plays the part of the definitive love bard, exhibiting sheer genius in describing the topsy-turvey experience of being in love. One is forced to assume that between "Master" and "The Letting Go" he'd switched lovers. I mean, he's completely whipped in these grooves; though, for the most part, he manages to avoid conveying it in a treacly, disgusting manner. (Well, "I Called You Back" does border on the insipid--and it's the only somewhat wearying song here.) There's a final 'hidden' track (very hidden), a loose, meandering affair that nevertheless wraps up the album quite nicely.

A gorgious record. Oldhams music is becoming mature, aged like wood or spirit. A true treasure and one not to be missed unless you care nothing for poems. This release is on par with Nick Cave's masterpiece "No More Shall We Part". Both artists highly prolific, yet Will seems to be a tad more rooted. Simply amazing to have someone like him around in our lifetime. Sort of like Prefontaine. Go Pre...Go Will.

Everything comes together perfectly on The Letting Go, probably Bonnie "Price" Billy's finest effort to date. The harmony vocals by Dawn McCarthy are Will Oldham's secret weapon here, along with the subtle and seductive acoustic arrangements. Basically, it's an indie-folk-pop dream come true.