Search - Bonnie Prince Billy :: Ask Forgiveness

Keep on coming

AWD | Arvada Colorado | 12/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When Will Oldham puts out a full album it is almost always a masterpiece. His last several were brilliant, "Letting Go", "Master And Everyone", "Ease Down The Road", "I See A Darkness", just one great album after another. In between albums he puts out a lot of "projects". With the exception of his collaboration with Matt Sweeney, "Superwolf", none of these projects are as great as his fully conceived albums, but all of them are still good, still worthwhile. This album is not quite as diverse and interesting as the collection of covers Oldham did with Tortoise a few years ago, but it is a bit more accessible and certainly has some sublime moments. This new set of covers has a couple of numbers that will take you away. R. Kelly's tune, "World's Greatest" is mostly empty posturing in the hands of Kelly, but Oldham somehow imbues the song with an everyman quality that inverts the cockiness of the song by making "greatness" seem attainable to everyone. Danzig's "Am I Demon?" further explores a long running conceit for Oldham, that of embracing the darkness within. Phil Ochs comes back alive with Oldham's melodic and sincere take on Och's intimate song "My Life". Like Dylan, BPB is not afraid of putting one of his own great songs in an obscure place and the one original here "Loving The Street" is an upbeat laid back feel-good Oldham cut that would, in turn, make a great cover song for someone else. It's always a bit of a surprise when Oldham isn't brilliant and a few songs here feel like retread oldham. But nonetheless, the big moments make this compilation worthwhile to own, and the overall listening experience is smooth and subtle, everything fitting together like a worn in puzzle."

Ignore the odd 1 star reviews - Will Oldham continues to wea

sageturk | 11/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Will's back - if I See A Darkness or Superwolf are in your record collection, get this album. Then again, you were already planning on it, right? Closer to his collaboration with Tortoise (The Brave and the Bold) this is a collection of mostly-covers - so fragile and delicate and fargone from the source material as to make it all his own.



Achingly beautiful stuff from the hush-voiced master.



"

Bonnie King of Covers

Thomas Blakiston | Saint Paul, MN, USA | 12/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A few years back Will Oldham recorded an EP of cover songs as Bonny Billy called "More Revery", which I love. Based on his performance on that EP, which was rockin', I purchased "Ask Forgiveness" as soon as I heard about it and have not been disappointed. Oldham's gentle style here is much like his last few albums. However, as I found Dawn McCarthy's back vocals on "The Letting Go" to be distracting I have been itching for some "new" Oldham to listen to. "World's Greatest" is this EP's gem; Oldham takes words that are gaudy and boastful and makes them humble and endearing. Heartily recommended."