Track Listing

1. Love Comes To Me
2. Strange Form Of Life
3. Wai
4. Cursed Sleep
5. No Bad News
6. Cold And Wet
7. Big Friday
8. Lay And Love
9. Seedling
10. Then The Letting Go
11. God's Small Song
12. I Called You Back

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5316 in Music
• Released on: 2006-09-18
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
'The Letting Go' is the fourth original full length solo release from alt.country singer-songwriter Will Oldham in his Bonnie "Prince" Billy guise. Recorded in Iceland and produced by Valgeir Sigurdsson (Bjork, Mum), this is an album of brooding lyrical lines supported by string quartet flourishes,acoustic guitar and the backing vocals of Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables. Includes the single 'Cursed Sleep'.

Customer Reviews

Outstanding return to form from visionary genius.

The first song 'Love Comes to Me' begins with a string quartet - a beautiful intro to a great song that sets the pace for the rest of the record. This record differs from anything Oldham has previously released. The recording is very lush, courtesy of Valgier Sigurdson's string arrangements. Also, Dawn McCarthy's singing is a parallel to Oldham. Most songs here are duets.

There are reference points - 'Ease Down the Road' and 'Master and Everyone' come to mind.

Jim White plays drums - tastefully as always. Paul Oldham plays bass... very occasionally.

Track two 'Strange Form of Life' builds nicely with a real edge, so it isn't too safe. Oldham's close up voice integrates perfectly with McCarthy's high singing.

'Wai' concludes the opening trio of songs that fit each other perfectly.

Okay, I've used perfectly twice already, but this record is pretty much (almost) perfect.

The lead single 'Cursed Sleep' is more straight-ahead with fewer twists and turns.

'No Bad News' like much of the album was inspired by the tsunami of Boxing day '2004. 'The Letting Go' is pretty much about two subjects - love and the tsunami.
Often the songs take on different juxtapositions. The thread weaves in and out of these songs. There is a line to earth though. Its all very punctiliously written. A Major return to form, but perhaps not as strong as the writing on 'I See a Darkness'.

The jury is out on 'Cold and Wet' . A blues track in the form or Eric Clapton - too dizzy to be John Lee Hooker or Robert Johnson.

'The Seedling' is more harsh and similar to Madeleine Mary ( from 'I see a Darkness' ).

'Then the Letting Go' is a complex folk song with a stunning arrangement delivered effortlessly.

The final song 'I Called You Back' will go down as one of the all time great Will Oldham songs. A story of a couple falling in love, but perhaps at the wrong time. Mesmerizing!

There is hidden track which is also superb. Not sure why its hidden as It fits perfectly with the other songs.

An astonishing return to form from one the great artists of our generation.

Complex and beautiful
'Letting Go' is a significant step for Oldham, it is sung mostly as duets and features more instrumentation and variety than the minimal earlier albums. And it mostly works brilliantly.

Although almost lush at times, embellished by guitars or with the rumble of dark percussion (on the excellent The Seedling for instance) it would be a mistake to think this is a total change of tack and the songwriting is at times as clear and postic as on 'Master And Everyone'. However the album is also imbued with a vague sense of strangeness, the backing vocals of Dawn McCarthy are sweet but somehow slightly 'disconnected' and the very English folk lilt of her voice is an effective counterpoint to Oldhams sweet lisp.

If being picky the album drifts a little towards the end, and why the final track (which actually rounds things off well) should be 'hidden' after a long delay is beyond me.

All in all possibly the best work he has done to date.

it's really good, actually
don't know what all you naysayers are going on about. It might even be my favourite Will Oldham album - yes, including There Is A Darkness. Deffo the best thing he's done since then, at any rate. Having read reviews I was expecting the backing vocals to drown out everything, but they are well-placed in the mix throughout. Aren't they? Well, I like it.