Wovoka - 2006 - II

1 To Jesus Acedo With Love 4:13
2 The Angels Have Flown Mada Away To Glory... Rejoice 11:01
3 Autumn Fingers 3:24
4 The Sapling Tree Whispers Truth Of Peace 2:49
5 And The Sun Shown Down On Wovoka 9:52
6 La Fin Tar 1:20

¡Aquí!

Oldham, Will - 2000 - Guarapero: Lost Blues 2

Guarapero/Lost Blues 2 gathers seven years' worth of rarities from Will Oldham, including an unusual reading of D.H. Lawrence's poem The Risen Lord, with a clunky, cheesy drum machine in the background, as well as a radical reworking of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Every Mother's Son." Several of these songs come from BBC sessions, but the sound quality on tracks like "Gezundheit" and "Let the Wires Ring" suggests they were recorded on wax cylinder and transmitted by a crystal set, which, of course, only amplifies the songs' sparse, timeless feel. "The Spider's Dude Is Often There" and "For the Mekons Et Al" are among the most exuberant Palace songs on Guarapero, while Oldham tracks like "No More Rides" and "Sugarcane Juice Drinker" trace his development as a performer and songwriter. Due to the time span it covers, it's natural that Guarapero/Lost Blues 2 is a bit disjointed; nevertheless, it fills in the gaps for Oldham completists and is an entertaining, if scattered, look at some of his musical sketches over the years.

		1		Drinking Woman		2:29
		2		The Spider's Dude Is Often There		4:17
		3		Gezundheit		2:48
		4		Let the Wires Ring		5:20
		5		Big Balls		3:15
		6		For the Mekons et Al		5:36
		7		Stable Will		4:26
		8		Every Mother's Son		6:06
		9		No More Rides		5:06
		10		The Risen Lord	Lawrence	5:20
		11		Boy, Have You Cum		2:51
		12		Patience		3:10
		13		Take However Long You Want		3:55
		14		Sugarcane Juice Drinker		3:33
		15		Call Me a Liar		4:20
		16		O Lord Are You in Need?		3:03

¡Aquí!

Iron & Wine - 2004 - Our Endless Numbered Days

On Our Endless Numbered Days, the follow-up to 2002's stunningly good Creek Drank the Cradle, the sound of Iron & Wine has changed but the song remains the same. No longer does Sam Beam record his intimate songs in the intimate surroundings of his home. Instead he has made the jump to the recording studio. As a result the record is much cleaner, less cocoon-like, certainly more the product of someone who has become a professional musician and not someone who just records for fun on a four-track. However, all Beam has sacrificed is sound quality. The sound of the record is still very intimate and simple, with very subtle arrangements that leave his voice and lyrics as the focal point. Luckily all the technology in the world can't affect Beam's voice, which still sounds like it comes right from his lips into your ear as if he were an angel perched on your shoulder. His songs are still as strong and memorable as they were on Creek, no drop off whatsoever in quality. "Naked as We Came" with sparkling melody lovely background harmonies by his sister Sara; the aching folk ballad "Radio War," which wouldn't sound out of place on Prairie Home Companion, only it would be the best thing you ever heard there; the sad and sweet "Each Coming Night"; the crystalline acoustic guitar ballad "Fever Dream," which has the kind of vocal harmony between Beam and his sister that seems to be the exclusive domain of siblings; and the soft rock CSNY "Sodom, South Georgia" are the equal of anything on Iron & Wine's debut and match up well with anything Palace, Smog, or their ilk have done lately. A definite plus to recording in a studio and enlisting the help of outside musicians is that there is much more variety to the album and there are lots of small production touches that liven things up like the Native American chants at the close of "Cinder and Smoke," the pedal steel guitar on "Sunset Soon Forgotten," and the drums and tambourine on the bluesy "Free Until They Cut Me Down." Our Endless Numbered Days is very subdued, thoughtful, melodic, and downright beautiful album and the new sound is more of a progression than a sudden shift in values, production or otherwise. Anyone who found the first album to be wonderful will no doubt feel the same about this one. Heck, you might even like it more.

		1		On Your Wings	Sam Beam	3:52
		2		Naked as We Came	Sam Beam	2:33
		3		Cinder and Smoke	Sam Beam	5:43
		4		Sunset Soon Forgotten	Sam Beam	3:20
		5		Teeth in the Grass	Sam Beam	2:22
		6		Love and Some Verses	Sam Beam	3:40
		7		Radio War	Sam Beam	1:56
		8		Each Coming Night	Sam Beam	3:28
		9		Free Until They Cut Me Down	Sam Beam	4:35
		10		Fever Dream	Sam Beam	4:16
		11		Sodom, South Georgia	Sam Beam	4:59
		12		Passing Afternoon	Sam Beam	4:01

¡Aquí!

Oldham, Will

For most of the '90s, Will Oldham was the mastermind of Palace Music, a shambling, country-tinged indie rock group that recorded under a variety of names. The only constant in Palace was Oldham, and he would often record as a solo artist under the Palace name. That fact made his decision to retire the Palace name in 1997 somewhat baffling, since for all intents and purposes, he was the band. Nevertheless, Joya, Oldham's first album as a solo artist, was slightly different than Palace, boasting a slightly darker and somber tone. Like all the Palace records, Joya was released on Drag City to positive critical notices and a moderately successful cult following. Although the subsequent I See a Darkness was attributed to Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Oldham continued using his given name for releases, including Ode Music and Guarapero: Lost Blues 2. The second Bonnie "Prince" Billy album, Ease Down the Road, arrived in early 2001, featuring collaborators David Pajo, Catherine Irwin, Mike Fellows, and Harmony Korine. Master and Everyone appeared two years later.

1997 - Live in Dunedin, New Zealand

2000 - Guarapero: Lost Blues 2

Oldham, Will - 1997 - Live in Dunedin, New Zealand

¡Aquí!

Magnetic Fields - 1999 - 69 Love Songs (3CD)

As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritt's most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritt's musical personas to converge — the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however — for all of Merritt's scathing wit and icy detachment, there's a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches l'amour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. Naturally, given a project of this size there's the occasional bit of filler, but all in all, 69 Love Songs maintains a remarkable consistency throughout, and the highlights ("I Don't Believe in the Sun," "All My Little Words," "Asleep and Dreaming," "Busby Berkeley Dreams," and "Acoustic Guitar," to name just a few) are jaw-droppingly superb. Also available as three individual releases, 69 Love Songs was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; despite its three-hour length, the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways.

		1		Absolutely Cuckoo	Merritt	1:34
		2		I Don't Believe in the Sun	Merritt	4:16
		3		All My Little Words	Merritt	2:46
		4		A Chicken with It's Head Cut Off	Merritt	2:41
		5		Reno Dakota	Merritt	1:05
		6		I Don't Want to Get Over You	Merritt	2:22
		7		Come Back from San Francisco	Merritt	2:48
		8		The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side	Merritt	3:43
		9		Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits	Merritt	2:25
		10		The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be	Merritt	1:11
		11		I Think I Need a New Heart	Merritt	2:32
		12		The Book of Love	Merritt	2:42
		13		Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long	Merritt	2:33
		14		How Fucking Romantic	Merritt	:58
		15		The One You Really Love	Merritt	2:53
		16		Punk Love	Merritt	:58
		17		Parades Go By	Merritt	2:56
		18		Boa Constrictor	Merritt	:58
		19		A Pretty Girl Is Like	Merritt	1:50
		20		My Sentimental Melody	Merritt	3:07
		21		Nothing Matters When We're Dancing	Merritt	2:27
		22		Sweet-Lovin' Man	Merritt	4:59
		23		The Things We Did and Didn't Do	Merritt	2:13
		24		Roses	Merritt	:27
		25		Love Is Like Jazz	Merritt	2:56
		26		When My Boy Walks Down the Street	Merritt	2:38
		27		Time Enough for Rocking When We're Old	Merritt	2:03
		28		Very Funny	Merritt	1:26
		29		Grand Canyon	Merritt	2:28
		30		No One Will Ever Love You	Merritt	3:14
		31		If You Don't Cry	Merritt	3:06
		32		You're My Only Home	Merritt	2:17
		33		(Crazy for You But) Not That Crazy	Merritt	2:18
		34		My Only Friend	Merritt	2:01
		35		Promises of Eternity	Merritt	3:46
		36		World Love	Merritt	3:07
		37		Washington, D.C.	Merritt	1:53
		38		Long-Forgotten Fairytale	Merritt	3:37
		39		Kiss Me Like You Mean It	Merritt	2:00
		40		Papa Was a Rodeo	Merritt	5:01
		41		Epitaph for My Heart	Merritt	2:50
		42		Asleep and Dreaming	Merritt	1:53
		43		The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing	Merritt	2:46
		44		The Way You Say Good-Night	Merritt	2:44
		45		Abigail, Belle of Kilronan	Merritt	2:00
		46		I Shatter	Merritt	3:09
		47		Underwear	Merritt	2:49
		48		It's a Crime	Merritt	3:54
		49		Busby Berkeley Dreams	Merritt	3:36
		50		I'm Sorry I Love You	Merritt	3:06
		51		Acoustic Guitar	Merritt	2:37
		52		The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure	Merritt	3:10
		53		Love in the Shadows	Merritt	2:54
		54		Bitter Tears	Merritt	2:51
		55		Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget	Merritt	1:55
		56		Yeah! Oh, Yeah!	Merritt	2:19
		57		Experimental Music Love	Merritt	:29
		58		Meaningless	Merritt	2:08
		59		Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin	Merritt	1:46
		60		Queen of the Savages	Merritt	2:12
		61		Blue You	Merritt	3:03
		62		I Can't Touch You Anymore	Merritt	3:05
		63		Two Kinds of People	Merritt	1:10
		64		How to Say Goodbye	Merritt	2:48
		65		The Night You Can't Remember	Merritt	2:17
		66		For We Are the King of the Boudoir	Merritt	1:14
		67		Strange Eyes	Merritt	2:01
		68		Xylophone Track	Merritt	2:47
		69		Zebra	Merritt	2:15

¡Aquí!