Bonny Billy
More Revery EP
[Temporary Residence]
Rating: 8.0
He's a little bit country. He's a little bit rock and roll. He's admired by
the likes of Björk and PJ Harvey. He sings songs about love, mountains, and
incest. He's released a gazillion albums, EPs, and singles under almost as
many pseudonyms and for almost as many labels. He's toured the world with cool
people like David Pajo in his backing band. He's made guest appearances on
records by the likes of semi-fossilized country icon Johnny Cash.
Yes, indeed, Will Oldham is a busy man. So busy, in fact, that it's hard to
imagine him having a lot of time to just kick back, relax, and spin a few of
his favorite CDs. But it makes sense that someone with such a keen grasp of
just how powerful music can be would spend a good deal of his time picking up
on the music of others. And with this appropriately-titled EP, Will finally
gives what we can only assume are those who inspired him the credit they
deserve.
More Revery, originally released as a super-limited-edition tour-only
EP in Temporary Residence's Travels in Constants series, consists of
six cover songs, including new Oldham-riffic versions of tunes by Bill Withers
and Tim McGraw. Yes, that Tim McGraw. But the beauty of the Oldham machine is
that, no matter what goes in, the song that comes out winds up sounding not
just like one of Will's own songs, but like one of Will's better songs.
A pleasant cover of Mamas and Papas founder John Phillips' brief, folky
"Someone's Sleeping" opens More Revery with beautiful near-perfection.
Oldham puts his mark on the song within seconds, his unmistakable, quavering
voice intoning above sloppily-played piano, guitar, and sparse drums. Even
though it's foreign material, it's one of the most gorgeous songs Oldham has
recorded recently, and seems to fit his style as well, if not better than most
of the songs on his current full-length, Ease Down the Road.
While "Someone's Sleeping" seems like perfect fodder for an Oldham cover,
PJ Harvey's dark, droning "Sweeter than Anything" presents a greater challenge.
The fact that the version on More Revery seems to work so seamlessly
as a Will Oldham song speaks to Oldham's willingness to recast the songs he's
interpreting in his own image. "Sweeter than Anything" is almost completely
transformed, as it seems that Oldham is more interested in being true to
himself than being true to the song, replacing Harvey's quiet, barely-contained
intensity with his own wailing, foot-tapping brand of haunting Appalachian
passion. Similarly passionate is a blazing cover of "Lean on Me" singer Bill
Withers' "Same Love That Made Me Laugh." When Oldham sings, "If you don't want
me, I don't want to live," his delivery is utterly convincing-- borrowed words
have rarely sounded this sincere.
As for the cover of Tim McGraw's mass-produced crap country hit, "Just to See
You Smile," Oldham seems to accomplish the impossible, turning a McNugget into
a home-cooked chicken meal with all the trimmings. Minus the glossy production
and sterile vocals, "Just to See You Smile" isn't all that bad, though the
lyrics remain admittedly cheesy. I doubt that Will Oldham is Tim McGraw's
biggest fan, but he's done the song a great deal of credit by giving it what
is certainly the best cover it will ever receive. Too bad Tim will probably
never hear it.
Sadly, More Revery does have one weak link: an awkward, reverb-drenched
cover of Jamaican singer John Holt's "Strange Things." Only here does Oldham
seem to lose a firm grasp over the source material, applying layers of
unnecessary vocal effects, and in doing so making his creaky voice sound
annoyingly inhuman.
Although it culls material from a diverse group of artists, More Revery
owes its ultimate success to the fact that it sounds like Will Oldham. Very
few musicians are as capable of handling their own work as well as Oldham
does, let alone six very different songs by six very different songwriters.
He's covered Tim McGraw. He's covered AC/DC. Where will the future take him?
Let's hope he follows the only logical next step: a strummed acoustic guitar
and organ version of "Big Pimpin'."
-Matt LeMay