Ease Down The Road

Two more CD's arrived today, however I'll only be reviewing one of them now, the other we will save for tomorrow or sometime later in the week. Today's CD is:

Ease Down the Road: By: Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Cost: $3.99
Some CD/Artist Info: Release in 2001, "Ease Down the Road" marks the seventh album in a long line of various monikers by artist Will Oldham. Previously he released CD's various names containing the word "Palace." Oldham adopted the identity of Bonnie "Prince" Billy on his album "I See A Darkness" and has stuck with it ever since.
Genre: Indie, Folk, Post-Punk. (It's difficult to label accurately.)
Track Breakdown:
1. May It Always Be - The opening track is tiring to listen to, and I don't mean that in a bad way. The tone it sets out is so incredibly peaceful, serene, and relaxing that it puts whale songs to shame. The guitars are melodic and the way the lyrics are sung quietly enough to be distinguishable but not loudly enough to be even mildly abrasive makes this song a real keeper. It's tough to make a song this soft keep listeners enthralled but the Bonnie Prince really pulled it off.
2. Careless Love - Though not as enthralling as "May It Always Be," "Careless Love" is another beautifully done song, it's short though the content is anything but sweet it's tale of a one night stand and it's hints at a suicide after said stand. It takes a bit more focus to turn this from simple background music to something that you're actively listening to, but it's worth it.
3. A King At Night - It sounds up-beat, the vocals sound positively cheery when backed by the wonderfully melodic guitar and piano until you realize the the lyrics include lines such as
"There is blood on my hands
From the murder of a man
This is how I start another day in my kingdom"
I'll leave the song review on this one by saying that it's done incredibly. It's easily one of the best, if not the best song on the album.
4. Just to See My Holly Home - Really this is the perfect example of the element which ties this album together, but I'll leave that talk for the CD summary. What I will say at this point is that the melody is up-tempo and the lyrics aren't as softly spoken as the previous tracks, but as far as ambiance goes it's a nice bit of a break from the slower songs which precede it.
5. At Break of Day - Ahh lust and love, two of the most popular themes for songs of all time, and this one combines both into one. The lyrics are masterfully crafted, describing the love a man feels for that special someone while also describing the adulterous affair he conducts with multiple women who aren't that special someone without being cheesy in the love area or crass in the lust area.
6. After I Made Love to You - Lacking the subtlety of "At Break of Day" it still manages to avoid the common pitfalls found in songs containing similar subject matter. The instrumentals remain impressive, as do the vocals, what really took this song up to the level set by the other songs were the back-up vocals. Usually in most songs the back-ups are a non-factor, adding nothing, but taking nothing away from the song as a whole but their deft employment here really makes it shine.
7. Ease Down The Road - It is obvious why this song is the title track, the themes of the album are played out well, and I wonder why the banjo they have on this song wasn't featured more prominently in other tracks. That could just be because I like banjos though. Oldham's voice though still calm on this track, sounds less, for lack of a better word, frail than in the other songs on the album, and I think for this particular song it was a wise move. The content required a more confident sounding voice, whereas the previous songs required a certain neediness and it's a testament to Oldham's talent that he knows when the change is required and moreover that he is capable of singing in both manners well.
8. The Lion Lair - In a deviation from the path which the rest of the album has been leading us on, we find "The Lion Lair." It feels curiously out of place here, which isn't to say it's bad it's just not quite like the rest of the album except for the pastoral aura it emits. It's a bit drawn out at 6:02, just under 2 minutes longer than it's nearest rival in length "King At Night" and sadly the length doesn't do it any favors. It seems a bit drawn out and though it is fine to listen to once, you'll want to move on and listen to some other things before giving it another listen.
9. Mrs. William - I feel as though I should be out on the front porch sipping lemonade and tuning my fiddle as I listen to this. There's a violin in the background that, like the banjo in "Ease Down The Road" I wish there was more of. Short of that however it's a nice song about sleeping with other mens wives, and I think in reality, aren't those the songs our society needs more of?
10. Sheep - A much more somber tune than any thus far on the album, it's another "Lion Lair-esque" diversion from what the other songs have led us to expect. Once again, it isn't a bad thing and unlike "Lion Lair" it doesn't suffer from being drawn out.
11. Grand Dark Feeling of Emptiness - Introspective and melancholy without being overly depressing, "Dark Feeling" manages to make the pity we feel for the singer or the man in the story feel genuine and deserved. It inspires an emotion which is not easily brought about, and which the Emo culture has been wishing they could capture since it's conception, however they just end up sounding whiny. Here Bonnie Prince Billy has given us an anthem for those rare reflective moments in our life.
12. Rich Wife Full of Happiness - As a final cheer up moment we leave the darker waters of "Sheep" and "Grand Dark Feeling" and end up on one more story of lust and love, laughter and the sticking of fingers up behinds (Yes that's an actual line). An excellent finale to an excellent album.

Summary: It was hard to review this album, especially in the track breakdown, because the songs are all so well done that it was hard to point out the positives without just repeating myself. If it seemed a bit samey I apologize. There's just so much going on here and it's all great, the instrumentals are relaxing yet engaging thanks to it's partnership with Oldham's vocal stylings. Then once you regard it as more than background music and take time to listen to the lyrics you find the songs which sound like the kind you'd hear that hippie you had for a camp counselor back when you were in grade school playing around the campfire, are in fact sexually charged tales of unfaithfulness and occasional violence. It's like they took a Bukowski manuscript and hid it behind pianos and acoustic guitars, and I really can't get enough.
I wouldn't have expected that I'd be into this kind of music, but "Ease Down the Road" has quickly risen into the ranks of my favorite albums, and at $4.00 it's a steal. Go out and pick this one up immediately.
I'm giving this one 5/5