Is It the Sea [Import]

Bonnie Prince Billy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Domino Records UK
• ASIN: B001EG4SYI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,865 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Minor Place

2. Love Comes to Me

3. Bed Is for Sleeping

4. Arise Therefore

5. Wolf Among Wolves

6. Ain't You Wealthy? Ain't You Wise?

7. Cursed Sleep

8. Molly Bawn

9. Birch Ballard

10. New Partner

11. Is It the Sea?

12. My Home Is the Sea

13. Master and Everyone

Editorial Reviews

2008 release. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy offers a beautiful collection of some of his greatest hits, captured during his stunning, atmospheric live performances on his sold out tour of Scotland and Ireland in Spring 2006. The tour found Billy in the company of Edinburgh's Harem Scarem on close harmonies, fiddle, flute, banjo and accordion and Glasgow's Alex Neilson on drums and percussion. For this tour Bonnie reached deep into his catalogue to produce a set long on magic and high on drama. Tracks include 'Minor Place', 'Love Comes To Me', 'Wolf Among Wolves', 'Is It The Sea?' and Master And Everyone'. Domino. 2008.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Live Bonny on the market.....a gem in my collection, November 1, 2008

By 

Willie Boy - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Is It the Sea (Audio CD)

This is the best live Bonnie Prince Billy I have heard !! ... Hands Down ... Well outside of some bootlegs of greatness that will never be sold to the general public........... Even going there it is still one of the best LIVE collections ever experienced.. I love to hear the ladies sing sweetly and a drummer of perfection in a class of lyrical progression. Excellence prevails....... Believe me.. I have ALL BPB releases and more, you can't go wrong with this live "Is It The Sea" rendition of the great Will Oldham........

Highly Recommended to old and new fans as well as beginners

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great live album from Bonnie Prince Billy, March 13, 2009

By 

Michael A. Albert "loosenthebiblebelt" (nj) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Is It the Sea (Audio CD)

This cd fits nicely next to "Wilding in the West" amd "Summer in the Southeast." Each has a different flavor: "Summer" is the hard rockin' Bonnie Billy at his best, "Wilding" sees a more experimental side, and here on "Is It The Sea," Bonnie teams up with folk band Harem Scarem on tour in Ireland.
They add mult-layered vocal harmonies and strangely American-sounding folk instrumentation to some classic Bonnie Prince Billy songs, and they do a couple of Harem Scarem originals from what I can tell without reading the liner notes too closely.
The band is good, and they add their own flavor to this set, which is very enjoyable. Pricey as an import, but so was "Wilding." As a big fan of Mr. Oldham, the cost is not really an issue.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Will Oldham with a folk band, October 30, 2008

By 

Yrusac Sim? (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is It the Sea (Audio CD)

This new live recording (Scotland, 206) is a compilation of songs that are mostly to be found on his latest albums. The concert took place in the wake of his then forthcoming album The Letting Go. What is interesting is that he is accompanied by local folk band Harem Scarem. Considering that mr. Oldham consistently challenges any folk labels awarded to him by reviewers, this album has an unmistakable folk sound, making use of banjos, fiddles, violins and close harmony. After his excursion into country with the recording of his 2004 Sings Greatest Palace Music in Nashville, Tennessee, this seems another try-out for the collection.

What is interesting is the constant twists that Will gives to his tunes when playing live, particularly to such classics as "New Partner". This is not only due to playing with a different band, but also to the idea of reinventing the song itself. What is particularly nice is that the drummer - Alex Neilson - occasionally sounds a bit like a jazz-drummer, which works quite well with some of the songs.

Then why give this record only three stars in the end? Well, personally I guess I'm not too keen on the folksy backing of these songs. Mostly the close harmony vocals of the ladies of Harem Scarem put me off. Apart from Oldham's brothers, I don't really appreciate his work with other singers, as on Master and Everyone.

All in all, this is an interesting live recording, considering that it is quite different from the average (not typical) Bonnie 'Prince' Billy sound, but not an overall great album, if you ask me.