Will Oldham - Guarapero : Lost Blues 2

  by Cara Ross

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Review

Guarapero Lost Blues 2 is the companion to the Palace Music singles released a few years ago called: Lost Blues (and other songs). Guarapero is essentially Volume 2 in what may prove to be a running series featuring unreleased tracks, and singles from countless 7 inches that have come out from Oldham over the years. Will Oldham has a huge body of work under an equally impressive body of pseudonyms: Palace Brothers, Palace Music, Palace Songs, Will Oldham & Friends, Bonnie “Prince” Billy—(which incidentally in the form of “I See a Darkness”, is the brightest jewel in this whole crown). But this album is more a combination of Palace and Oldham stuff thrown together, spanning time. And now I’d never kid you in saying that “Guarapero Lost Blues 2” is Oldham’s best work…but I still love it, definitely one for the true fan. It’s really more a hodgepodge of bits and pieces thrown together: live tracks, bizarre “twin peaks” morphed samples, religious fervor, synthesizers, and even a drum machine thrown in, essentially rare and lost tunes, covers and originals. Even when Will Oldham just kind of throws a bunch of stuff together, it’s still about a thousand times more deep, insightful, sad and beautiful than almost anything else out there. The appeal with Will Oldham is that he seems to have this “Everyman” quality. Any guy could have his voice, and any guy fancies himself able to bang out a couple of chords on the guitar. But that’s a misconception, because he’s the only guy who can do THIS. We’re being tricked with magic and dark poetry. It’s always been my belief that humour and sadness go hand in hand. And no one seems to understand this better than Oldham. In much the same way that love and hate aren’t really opposites (surely we all know by now that apathy is love’s opposite…) Oldham understands why that humour is still there: “If heaven’s tits were gleaming up to tease me / I’d tumble down the basement stairs.” Even some of the sillier lyrics (like his cover of AC/DC’s “Big Balls”) come out seeming deeper than any poignant sentiment I could ever muster (well perhaps that one’s an exaggeration…). I still think Oldham may very well be a witch though. Guarapero Lost Blues 2 makes me anxiously pray for the advent of a Lost Blues 3, in which I’m sure there’d be a wealth of material yet uncovered.

Track Listing:-

1 Drinking Woman
2 The Spider's Dude Is Often There
3 Gezundheit
4 Let The Wires Ring
5 Big Balls
6 For The Mekons Et Al
7 Stable Will
8 Every Mothers Son
9 No More Rides
10 The Risen Lord
11 Boy, Have You Come
12 Patience
13 Take However Long You Want
14 Sugarcane Juice Drinker
15 Call Me A Liar
16 O Lord Are You In Need

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