Tortoise And Bonnie Prince Billy - Brave And The Bold

  by Daniel Cressey

published: 20 / 11 / 2005

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This new album from Will Oldham (aka – Bonnie Prince Billy) and Tortoise lives up to its title, being both brave and bold. Unfortunately on a first listen very few other adjectives will spring to mind for this collection of generally ill-advised and ill-executed covers. While subsequent playing may increase your opinion of it somewhat this is still ultimately a disappointment. Opening number ‘Cravo E Canela’ could be the soundtrack for dinner in a bad restaurant and the production will have you checking your hi-fi to see if your speaker wires have come loose. While we’re on the subject of this CD’s negatives, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the cover of Elton John’s ‘Daniel’ is the worst thing any of the artists involved in this recording have ever released. Their cover of Springsteen’s ‘Thunder Road’ nearly works but not nearly enough. The fuzzed out ‘It’s Expected I’m Gone’ is a high-point, adopting a balls-out stance reminiscent of early ’90s rock. Later on some of the same magic appears on an similarly lo-fi ‘Love is Love’. If you can come to this expecting something less than the sum of both halves you may be charmed and even impressed. Indeed perhaps it is always folly to expect collaborations to produce something that combine the strengths of both collaborators, rather than their weaknesses. If you don’t expect this though, then why put them together ?

Track Listing:-

1 Cravo É Canela
2 Thunder Road
3 It's Expected I'm Gone
4 Daniel
5 Love Is Love
6 Pancho
7 That's Pep!
8 Some Say (I Got Devil)
9 Cavalry Cross
10 On My Own

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