Will Oldham
Guarapero/Lost Blues II
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Will Oldham
Guarapero/Lost Blues II
Drag City, 2000
RiYL: Songs Ohia, The Kingsbury Manx, Smog |
To some, this may bring about as much excitement as the news of a new double-live Def Leppard album. It’s true that there are those who almost vehemently denounce Oldham’s works. But there are many others who consider the man a genius and who would readily drink his bathwater or eat his toenails if he so asked. Whether you love or hate Will Oldham’s music, it’s probably for the same reason -- his voice.
Will Oldham’s voice creaks and pops, cracks and sputters, wanders and shoots off key. It whines and bleeds into melodies that will never be featured on any Radiohead album. His is a human voice with all its faults intact, with its zits and scabs and snot and ugliness laid bare for all to see. It is no small wonder that some find his voice unpleasant.
But for others -- such as myself -- the faults and the distinctly human ring to Oldham’s voice are precisely what make it beautiful. It’s a familiar voice; the voice of your grandfather singing you lullabies, faltering and skittering as you cry yourself to sleep. It washes away your tears and troubles as it almost blindly bumbles its way through the notes. With his voice, Oldham shows us that sometimes there is nothing as beautiful and soothing as someone being absolutely human and absolutely unafraid.
It is this voice that lays the path for his darkly intimate lyrics. Certainly, Oldham has written some of the most brutally honest songs ever recorded: songs that explore the human psyche, in all its lusts and longings, its malice and vices, its loves and its glories. And Lost Blues II is no exception to these attempts at mapping the contents of the soul.
But Lost Blues II, being a collection of b-sides, is definitely not Oldham's most accessible or cohesive album to date. Some of the album is rough and almost grating. A few of the tracks sound like they were taped on a micro cassette recorder wrapped in duct tape that was later urinated upon by a passing woodland animal. It has neither the lush production of Bonnie Prince Billy’s masterpiece I See A Darkness nor the luster of Oldham’s impressive Joya.
Those not familiar with Oldham’s work would do best to start out with those albums. But for the initiated, Lost Blues II and its chaotic slew of lo-fi recordings hold many gems worth unearthing. Among them, “Let The Wires Ring” stands along with Oldham’s finest acoustic works, bringing to mind Palace Brothers’ starkly beautiful 1994 album Days In The Wake. “For The Mekons Et Al” and “Stable Will” let us know, for better or for worse, what Oldham’s voice sounds like unrestrained and uninhibited, as it careens and twists into heights not often found in his recordings.
Other songs like “The Risen Lord” and “Boy You Have To Cum” feature a cheap drum machine and synthesizer sound reminiscent of Oldham’s Arise, Therefore. While the idea of Oldham tinkering with five-dollar drum machines and synthesizers may strike fear into the heart, and bring terrifying visions of Sting stealing Oldham’s vocal cords, the songs nonetheless add another fractured puzzle piece to Oldham’s haunting artistic vision.
There are some truly serene and beautiful moments on Lost Blues II, moments as compelling as any ever captured of Oldham. And on the flipside, there are a few songs that would have been perhaps better left as obscure b-sides. But as a whole, Guarapero/Lost Blues II brings us ever closer to understanding the mysterious brilliance of Will Oldham, in all his ugliness and splendor. And really, what more could you ask for from a b-sides album? And where is that dirty bathwater, by the way? I’m thirsty.
SHANE STRAIGHT |