Listening Priority: Medium, but definitely pick up the key tracks.
I typically think of Will (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) Oldham as a catalog artist rather than an album artist. Perhaps that's not paying proper respect to the album, but with an artist as prolific as Oldham - who seems to release an album (plus assorted singles and collaborations) per year, it's sometimes difficult to keep track by albums. So, what does What the Brothers Sang, a collection of songs sung by the Everly Brothers contribute to Oldham's sizable discography? It adds some find country-folk duets that surprise in their structure and arrangement. There are some more straightforward tunes ("Somebody Help Me," "What Am I Living For"), but for the most part the Brothers' songs work in mysterious ways. Just when you think you know how the next bit of melody will sound, the song takes a different direction. You think you've heard all of "Omaha," but then it has a delightfully different ending. Apart from some of the smaller reworkings that Dawn & Billy's gang contribute, the contextualization of these songs as male-female duets provides some excellent moments, as when Oldham sings "I'd like to raise a family" and McCarthy responds with "I'd like to sail away" on "Poems, Prayers, and Promises." Changing it from two brothers to unrelated male-female singers adds to the range of the harmonies and suggests that it could be lovers singing these songs. The lyrics here aren't always subtle or complex, but they sometimes communicate simple truths. "How sweet it is to love someone, how right it is to care," isn't necessarily a novel thought, but when it hits you during "Poems, Prayers, and Promises," it hits hard. The album stays true to Oldham's M.O., dropping several gems into his catalog, while also reminding us of the fun and wisdom contained in what the Brothers sang.
I typically think of Will (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) Oldham as a catalog artist rather than an album artist. Perhaps that's not paying proper respect to the album, but with an artist as prolific as Oldham - who seems to release an album (plus assorted singles and collaborations) per year, it's sometimes difficult to keep track by albums. So, what does What the Brothers Sang, a collection of songs sung by the Everly Brothers contribute to Oldham's sizable discography? It adds some find country-folk duets that surprise in their structure and arrangement. There are some more straightforward tunes ("Somebody Help Me," "What Am I Living For"), but for the most part the Brothers' songs work in mysterious ways. Just when you think you know how the next bit of melody will sound, the song takes a different direction. You think you've heard all of "Omaha," but then it has a delightfully different ending. Apart from some of the smaller reworkings that Dawn & Billy's gang contribute, the contextualization of these songs as male-female duets provides some excellent moments, as when Oldham sings "I'd like to raise a family" and McCarthy responds with "I'd like to sail away" on "Poems, Prayers, and Promises." Changing it from two brothers to unrelated male-female singers adds to the range of the harmonies and suggests that it could be lovers singing these songs. The lyrics here aren't always subtle or complex, but they sometimes communicate simple truths. "How sweet it is to love someone, how right it is to care," isn't necessarily a novel thought, but when it hits you during "Poems, Prayers, and Promises," it hits hard. The album stays true to Oldham's M.O., dropping several gems into his catalog, while also reminding us of the fun and wisdom contained in what the Brothers sang.
Key Tracks: "Poems, Prayers, and Promises," "Milk Train," "Omaha," "Kentucky"
Side Notes
When discussing how an unrelated male-female duo "adds to the range of the harmonies and suggests that it could be lovers singing these songs," the male-female part adds to the range of harmonies, while the fact that they're not related suggests that they could be lovers. I wasn't trying to suggest that they could be lovers just because they're a man and woman. I was trying to suggest that - given the content of any of these songs and the fact that they're not related (as the Everly Brothers were) - it seems like an interesting way to hear the songs.
Side Notes
When discussing how an unrelated male-female duo "adds to the range of the harmonies and suggests that it could be lovers singing these songs," the male-female part adds to the range of harmonies, while the fact that they're not related suggests that they could be lovers. I wasn't trying to suggest that they could be lovers just because they're a man and woman. I was trying to suggest that - given the content of any of these songs and the fact that they're not related (as the Everly Brothers were) - it seems like an interesting way to hear the songs.