Best Will Oldham Studio Album

first one seems to be the easy winner, to my ears.
things started to go wrong at viva last blues, and he'd really lost it by master & everyone.

it is arise therefore - trust me on this one im quite sure

First is one of the 3 or 4 I couldn't possibly vote for. Would probably vote Ask Forgiveness at the moment.

i thought it was arise therefore for a loooong time. then i listened to it and i thought the vocals were mixed too high and the lyrics were sub-par.

naw its the only one where the music transcends his rootsy shtick - the piano/vocal synergy my god!

the drum machine IS awesome on that record. was it an albini production? it sounds stark enough.

bonus points for song title "you have cum in your hair and your dick is hangin out"

yah ha i believe it is an albini

Viva Last Blues. it was the first I had ever heard of him and i compare everything else to it.

viva last blues would be awes if it weren't for "new partner."

^^ controversial opinion?

toss up between Viva Last Blues and I See a Darkness, altho I haven't heard the last three

totes challop - new partner is great - the real stinker is work hard play hard

but eh i pretty much love them all except the last three - many many hours and years listening to all these

master and everyone and the letting go are great albums too. imo.

but a lot of times i think i would vote superwolf as my fav BPB thing ever.

I like the smooth-as-good-weed-smoke feel of Ease Down The Road.

yeah superwolf is good, I think that was the last thing of his I heard

Days in the Wake

actually, i'll toss a vote to Sings Greatest Palace Music, which is lush and gorgeous with tonssss of great songs, reinterpreted beautifully.

Ease Down The Road is soooooo much better than I See A Darkness, which everyone goes nuts about for some dumb reason.

my dumb reason is that there aren't any bad songs on it

"I Called You Back" on The Letting Go is so totally amazing.

I really want to like Arise, Therefore, but I find it mostly dull. A Sucker's Evening is great though.

I think I See a Darkness and Ease Down the Road contain some of his strongest songwriting, and his voice sounds GREAT, but I can't say I still listen to those records. There Is No-One and Viva Last Blues still grab me though, so one of those. Probably Viva, it's got some swing to it.

arise therefore or darkness, but I do really like master and everyone, it's up there.

my dumb reason is that there aren't any bad songs on it

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, April 29, 2008 11:51 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

That's not dumb so much as just RONG.

Death to Everyone?
Madeline Mary?
Today I Was An Evil One?
Crap. All crap.

oh, and Another Day Fulla Dread sucks too.

i don't dislike 'i see a darkness' but it seems like one of those 'right place right time' albums rather than one that is any better than the rest of his stuff, and in some cases is worse than some of his stuff.

Viva Last Blues

"More Brother Rides" and "New Partner" are in my top 5 of Oldham's

Death to Everyone?
Madeline Mary?
Today I Was An Evil One?
Crap. All crap.

oh, and Another Day Fulla Dread sucks too.

I can maybe concede Today I Was An Evil One, but the other ones are great.

Actually, no, this song's better than I remember.

I CONCEDE NOTHING.

i think people like that album cause its the most over the top dramatic - which is saying something - those songs are the most pointed examples

he comes the closest there to just admitting yes i am just completely fucking around - is nice tho right

Ease Down The Road!

days in the wake

I dunno, "riding" and "ohio river boat song" are more over-the-top dramatic to me than anything on i see a darkness. But I love those songs, esp. ohio river, so whatever.

viva last and master seem to get dismissed by the hardcores, but i find myself playing those the most.

I voted for "darkness" because I loved it at the time & the show they played @ black cat (just before it came out) was something else.. but.. haven't listened to oldham for a couple years.. every album he seems to have some stuff that's completely over the top and wtf.. it'll probably all sound completely different to me now.

I sang "May It Always Be" at a wedding reception once.

But why listen to Will Oldham when you can go straight to the source.

"new partner" is one of my favorite things about viva

and "death to everyone" is great

fuck the haters

But why listen to Will Oldham when you can go straight to the source.

http://www.wirz.de/music/phillipsw/grafik/mr0064.jpg

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

What is this album? I always thought the only thing that existed was that Yazoo CD (which I've meant to get but never have). Checked AMG and there's a more recent Sanachie one too, but this one I've never seen.

"I See A Darkness."
I predict a truly diverse result here.

Work Hard/Play Hard is great
ian do you y'know LIKE Will Oldham?

ease down

I love Will Oldham!
I just got tired of his schtick sometime in my college daze. I still unreservedly love the first two records, and large chunks of his catalog thereafter. When he became a more straightforward songwriter & arranger, I think he lost a bit of what made his work special. I love Ease Down The Road, but that's partially because of the shift in subject matter along with the shift in clarity of songwriting. When he tries to do seriously over the top dark & heavy shit in a less cryptic/rustic/creaky style, I think it loses a lot of its effectiveness.

re: Washington Phillips: that's a recent LP reissue by Mississippi Records. Probably contains the same tracks as the Yazoo CD.

(incl the Oldham covered "I Had A Good Mother & Father.")
(they taught him how to pray.)

we ought to do an Oldham singles poll next. "Lost Blues" is such a great listen.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i'd have voted for superwolf if it was on here i think