QTheMusic.com

I know I said last week I'd have three new records for you and though I've bought a lot of good records this week I'd like to talk instead (frustrating eh?) about one of my heroes. Sir Will Oldham. I was listening again to Beware (his fantastic album from earlier this year) this morning and was overcome with the desire to sack off all else and write about the great man who's been a great inspiration to me (and many indie and nu-country kids) for many years.

His debut record, under the Palace moniker (he would call himself Palace Music, The Palace Brothers or Palace Songs seemingly as the mood took him in the early days and after one solo album, Joya as Will Oldham, he has called himself Bonnie 'Prince' Billy for most of his more recent outings).

There Is No-One What Will Take Care Of You was being listened to by the more switched on of my University friends and when I first got my hands on it I have to admit I had no idea what to make of it. To my ears the guy couldn't sing or play at all well and what the f**k was he talking about? Songs entitled (I Was Drunk at The) Pulpit, I Tried To Stay Healthy For You and O Lord Are You In Need smacked of things I had no experience of and seemed, to be honest, terrifying.

But that's the thing with Oldham his songs find their way inside you and begin to feel at home there and all of the fragility in his cracked world-weary voice starts to take on a beauty of its own. It's the things that frightened me in the beginning about this world of sin, darkness and calamity that draw me closer now and I'm a still junkie for it all.

The first record of his though that truly knocked the wind out of me was the staggering white knuckle ride that is 1995's Viva Last Blues. These are songs that will go to my grave with me. We All, Us Three, Will Ride and Work Hard/Play Hard are astonishing pure breeds and then of course there is his finest moment, to be held aloft with any great artists greatest song, the spellbinding treasure that is New Partner.

New Partner is one of those rare delights, alongside Elbow's Mirrorball and Death Cab's Transatlanticism, I frankly wish I'd written (although I would have needed to have lived a very different life to have done) and it would seem by the amount of great bands and songwriters that have covered it in the past that I am not alone in thinking this. "There's a black tinted sunset with the prettiest of skies, lay back lay back rest your head on my thighs." Sweet jebus every single word is essential and beautiful.

Like Observatory Crest in the wild and grizzly back catalogue of Captain Beefheart, New Partner is a beacon of light in among the grime and the devil of most of his other work. There are of course other moments that get close to the gorgeous elegance of New Partner (At Break Of Day from Ease Down The Road and The Way from Master and Everyone, both as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) but it is this I keep coming back to.

He rerecorded it for the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Sings Greatest Palace Music record in 2004 but no version beats the original from Viva Last Blues in my opinion and if you were to go listen to something right now I'd have to say go with this. If you're anything like me you'll just keep going round and round this penduluming joy of a thing.

So heroes then. And at the rementioning of that I'd like to tell a wee story. I played with him in Whelan's in Dublin a few years back. I had a day off from the European tour we were on and the Dublin promoter knew how much of a fan I was of him so I grabbed an acoustic and flew into Dublin on my tod as excited as a superfan could be. After a quick soundcheck I was brought over to meet the man himself by the promoter who said "Hey Will this is Gary Lightbody, he'll be playing before you tonight."

He turned like a slow mechanism towards me looked at my sternum then turned again, slower this time, without saying word one and that was that, my first and last encounter with Oldham. For a while afterwards I hated him for that I have to say, "How dare he etc, etc," buffed out chest, "blah, blah..." The thing is though, to this day, there is still a mystery that shrouds him to me and even after meeting him I'm none the wiser what makes him tick or what measure of man he really is and sure isn't that the distance we all need from our heroes. When you befriend your heroes then perhaps the magic diminishes. Perhaps... Still, 'hello' would've been nice Will....

g.x

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on myspace.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on Domino records website.

Palace Music - New Partner (from Viva Last Blues)

9:44 AM | 04/08/2009