Viva Last Blues

[Davey]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61MNWWHs9EL._SY300_.jpg


I would sell my belongings
In the mountains where she's living
Just to be there when she comes every morning

Lots of hidden mentions of this old 1995 record from Will Oldham strewn on the crumbling roads throughout Rave Recs. Probably mostly by me, but that's OK, we all have our strange music compulsions, which almost seems an oxymoron since it is so often that same search for strange music that brings us together. And this one has been unshakable for close to double decades now.

Well, I would not have moved if I knew you were here
It's some special action with motives unclear
Now you'll haunt me, you'll haunt me
Till I've paid for what I've done

Been closer to the front lately, not sure why, just sounds good, and tends to stay out for awhile. Just love the whole package, the songs, the Steve Albini recording (especially on the drums/percussion and bass), the players, the looseness, the flow, just a nice record.

The CD sounds good, and of course the vinyl sounds really good. Don't know how many follow Michael Fremer, but I know he's a big fan of this one too (and of Albini's engineering in general), and often mentions it in reviews. Below is from one of his equipment reviews in Stereophile ...

On Palace Music's Viva Last Blues (Palace/Drag City Records PR4/DC65), a minimally miked recording of a unique folk/rock band by the great Steve Albini, the PH-3 rendered individual instruments—acoustic and electric—lead singer Will Oldham's whiny voice, and the room in which the band was playing, with Viewlex-like three-dimensionality and authority. You want to hear cymbals crash as they do live? A snare crack as it would in real life? You want to hear an Appalachian springboard to some very strange, but intoxicating and emotionally pure mountain music? Check this record out.

Apparently Albini recorded it in a little studio outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Again, Michael Fremer from an interview with Oldham....

MF: This record I recommend to a lot of people and some people have trouble with it, but Viva Last Blues (Palace Records/Drag City PR4/DC65) which is the first thing I ever heard that you did, I went how come I never heard this before. And I know also Steve Albini I happen to know is a fantastic engineer. What was it like working with him when you did that?

WO: It was great. I’ve known Steve for a long time because I was a fan of Big Black when they were around and he handled orders for t-shirts and things like that, so I remember sending him money for a t-shirt and then going to see him play in Newport, Kentucky in ’85. “Steve, this is Will Oldham. This is Steve Albini.” He’s like, “Will Oldham from Louisville, Kentucky? I owe you a t-shirt. Hold on just a second,” you know, and getting me a t-shirt.

MF: He’s such a good guy.

WO: Yes, and then, you know, we all stayed at the same apartment that night, and then I knew him increasingly over the years, and I wanted to work with him but honestly couldn’t afford it for the first two records. So this record (Viva Last Blues), I made him come to – because he’s great, you know, but I made him come to Alabama where I was living because I didn’t want him to be able to get any phone calls or anything like that for a while.

MF: Yes, I’m sure he’s a magnet, lightning rod for stuff.

WO: Yes. And he has a full life and so to sort of isolate. I like everybody to be isolated when making a record so that that’s all you think about, and at that time we would make records in a week, and that’s not too much to ask of everybody.

MF: Where in Alabama?

WO: It was in Hueytown, Alabama and the studio was called Bates Brothers Recording. It was about 25 minutes outside of Birmingham where I was living, an industrial area, a little industrial – like a strip mall but not commercial – it’s all offices. And they just had their studio in there and they record mostly gospel.

Not sure if Will Oldham, or Palace, or Palace Music, or Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, or any of his other guises really need a separate thread here, but if they do then this is it. Inspired by a recent sighting of an old regular from the pre-millenium "orange" days, this "Viva Last Blues" and the new-at-the-time and still amazing "I See A Darkness", were two of the first records I talked about around here with him. Not sure why I remember that, or even if it is as strange as it sounds, probably should just be thankful we don't have any archives from those long gone times.

[dean_martin]

Thanks for posting about this album, Davey. I picked it up not long afterwards. The LP can be found, but it's more than I'm usually inclined to spend on a single album save box sets, special packages, etc. Last year, the Palace Music, Palace Bros. catalog was reissued. I can't speak to the others, but the Viva Last Blues cd sounds really, really good. I thoroughly enjoy this relatively short 10-song set. When I'm fitting it into a multi-artist listening session I program tracks 4, 7, 1 and 8 (in that order).

I like the fact that it was recorded in Alabama. I like the fact that it was recorded by Albini who shows up on many of my favorites. I like the fact that Fremer asked Oldham about this album. What's not to like?

[Davey]

I like the fact that it was recorded in Alabama. I like the fact that it was recorded by Albini who shows up on many of my favorites. I like the fact that Fremer asked Oldham about this album. What's not to like? Cool to hear you like it, thanks, I kinda forgot about that post, probably some alcohol haze in there, maybe a little. But 1995 was such an amazing year of discovery for me, almost like a reawakening in some ways. Not that I was ever away from music, it's such a big part of everything, but for a few years in the late 80s and early 90s, I wasn't really connected to what was happening below the surface.

And in 1995 I got really connected again to what I like. Because there was so much new music being made that was grooved to what I like. It just felt limitless, things like this new Palace Music, don't really think I had heard something like it before, and like The Blue Moods of Spain playing right now. Elastica and Geraldine Fibbers, the amazing Bjork, Emmylou Harris, Laika and Leftfield, and Moby ... Moby was really good then. And Richard Buckner really kinda changed my life, just a little, but that's pretty big. And PJ Harvey probably changed it more. And Luna was huge. Sparkelhorse, Mark Linkous will be missed for a very long time, very cool tribute record in the works called Last Box of Sparkles.

And the start of what became Califone, born of Red Red Meat, definitely felt a change. And the start of Sixteen Horsepower, and my favorite from Three Mile Pilot, and Yo La Tengo may have become my favorite band with Electr-o-pura, at least for a time. Tindersticks and Tricky, both with colossal records, those were times to remember. And my later discovery of the lost Shack Waterpistol. Good stuff.

The list could go on for a long time, some of the music never ends. Yea, this is sounding pretty good right now ...


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NOUATWBXL.jpg

[dean_martin]

Nice post, Davey. I was on a similar path back then but my main interest was film. Those were the print and mail order days. I ordered as many catalogs as I could find from ads in various film magazines and found a handful of reliable sellers (importers/bootleggers) of foreign films. A buddy and I were heavily into films from Europe, Asia and South America. Eurotrash from the 60's and 70's ruled. We collected soundtracks from European film and television which led to mining rock/surf instrumentals. Of course we were mindful of new film releases as well. Tarantino was on the rise. My friend and I believed we anticipated Tarantino's soundtrack to Pulp Fiction because we were already deep into rock/surf instrumentals and "Incredibly Strange Music" (the title of a two volume set from Research magazine) when Pulp Fiction came out. My girl friend worked in a video store and she would sneak out the store's promo copies of new releases for my buddy and I to run through a descrambler and dub. We had new releases of favorites sometimes 2 to 3 weeks before the general public. I still have my two-tape set of Pulp Fiction. We were very meticulous. Everything was dubbed using the best settings for picture and sound quality (which is of course relative to the medium) and the best "hifi" vcrs we could afford.

I tried to find copies of films from Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, etc. and was mostly successful. My friend and I tracked down Mario Bava's "Danger: Diabolik" long before the Beastie Boys used footage in the video for Body Movin'. We also developed a vast collection of Godzilla and other big creature films. Along came the Beasties video for Intergalactic. For awhile there, our interests seemed to predict what was coming. Hell, we were so confident that our tastes were ahead of the curve that we started discussing ideas (heavily influenced by David Lynch imagery) for a screenplay. BTW, Lynch used some great music in many of his films.

We hit flea markets for Les Baxter, Esquivel and other lounge/space age bachelor pad/exotica music. Then, Swingers came out. I even made a video presentation for my environmental law class using footage I had shot on a beach, music from Esquivel and some spliced-in footage of UFO sightings in Gulf Breeze, FL (which reminds me that I have alot of UFO "documentaries" and books aquired from that time). Of course you can't be complete in this musical area without stumbling across Stereolab.

You mentioned Leftfield. I was exposed to them via the soundtrack to Shallow Grave.

Then there were the films of Russ Meyer and Radley Metzger. These guys knew how to capture attention-grabbing images (for guys, at least). We were also into "bad" b-movies like blaxploitation, early biker movies and Ed Wood (long before Tim Burton's Ed Wood), Herschel Gordon Lewis, etc., some of which had excellent music.

The music scene was important too. I caught the traveling Lollapalooza shows for a couple of years, was deep into Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Babes in Toyland, Nirvana, Butthole Surfers, Rev. Horton Heat, Beck and others. I remember "chicks that rocked" and the riot grrrl movement were main interests as well. I met Kat Bjelland! 1991 The Year that Punk Broke was a favorite and I was glad that it finally came out on dvd. My friend and I collected boots of live shows on vhs and cd. By the time Nirvana's unplugged set and Live! Tonight! Sold Out! were officially released, we already had them in one form or another.

I have so many vhs bootlegs (including almost the whole Warhol collection my friend and I aquired via import), I don't know what to do with them. My interests have kind of flipped these days. Although I still like strange films, I'm more into the hunt for new music and music that I missed over the years. Unfortunately, I don't have the spare time that I had in the 90s. That's why I look forward to your posts (and those of a few others, too). I'll be revisiting your above post to search out some of what I missed.

[Snowbunny]

I agree, Davey - nice recommendation and interesting article. I forgot about the bonny Prince and the Palace.

This is when I really appreciate the youtube. I do go down the rabbit's hole though, and one link leads to another and before you know it you're watching a video of a hippo eating a watermelon. :confused5:

Great song The Mountain Low, love the way Oldham's voice cracks with such honest emotion. I can see why Pitchfork listed it in their list of the top 100 albums of the '90's.

How did this just rise to the surface here now?

Snowie

NP: Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know and I'm pretty sure I'm the last person on earth to add this song to my library. Best "break-up" song ever...

[Davey]

How did this just rise to the surface here now?

If you mean Viva Last Blues, well, like I said, there are lots of mentions strewn throughout the archives. Google search below pulls up a couple pages ...

"viva last blues" site:archive.audioreview.com

Here's some embarrassing old links (and yea, you're in many of them too, so open at your own risk :)), and below them an old post from the end of the last link that consolidates some of the posts too ...

AudioReview.com's Forum Archives (http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EF9455C.php)
AudioReview.com's Forum Archives (http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EF94A0A.php)
AudioReview.com's Forum Archives (http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EF98F98.php)
AudioReview.com's Forum Archives (http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EEBEE13.php)
AudioReview.com's Forum Archives (http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EE96398.php)
AudioReview.com's Forum Archives (http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EF9EE0D.php)
....


Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Music, Will Oldham, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Davey Sep 15, 2003 12:45 PM

I think Oldham probably has used more monikers than even me :-)

I've made quite a few posts about his own albums and ones he has contributed to so I'll just paste some of that info down below. But since you're a fan of the Johnny Cash American Recordings series, you've probably heard the third one with the Will Oldham song (and vocal backing) of the title track from his much acclaimed I See A Darkness, released under his Bonnie 'Prince' Billy guise. The Cash version is very good but the Oldham version is the one that (almost :-)) makes me cry. Many might direct you to that one and I couldn't really argue since it's a very good album that shows most of his strengths. But my introduction and the one I probably think of as my favorite is Viva Last Blues when he was working as Palace.
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Don't know if I mentioned it last time we spoke about him, but David Pajo, who was the guitar guy from Slint, put out an outstanding album a couple years ago under the Papa M moniker with Will Oldham called Whatever, Mortal that you would probably like a lot. Pajo also usually has various duties on some of Oldham's albums too, although I don't see him listed on this latest one. The last one before this which I think you got, Ease Down The Road, was very similar to what he and Pajo did on the Whatever, Mortal album, both in the sound and also in that I think it is mostly covers and traditional songs. If you can score a copy of the excellent CRSv5 that chrisnz put together last November, there's a couple Papa M songs from the album along with some other choice stuff. Mine is packed away right now or else I'd make you a copy. Anyway, I'm sure someone here would be happy to send you one if you ask nicely :-)
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Anyway, Viva Last Blues has been on the table most of the day. Palace Music, the first incarnation in my collection of Will Oldham, who also has released records under Palace, Palace Brothers, Will Oldham and Bonnie 'Prince' Billly. One of my old favorites from 1995. Sparse country-folk-sadcore type music. This one with Jason Lowenstein from Sebadoh, his brother Ned Oldham, Liam Hayes and Bryan Rich. Recorded just right by Steve Albini. All the brilliance that would later show up on Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's critically acclaimed "I See A Darkness" is present here, at least to my ears. Viva Last Blues! And Viva the good folks at Drag City for putting out their albums on vinyl!
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That's a pretty good album, Chris. I think you'll probably like it. Over Jordan is a real stunner and the album opener. It's a reworking of the traditional old classic, Wayfaring Stranger. Very nice job. Will Oldham backs him on most tracks which makes it sometimes sound like one of his albums, a good thing I'm sure you will agree. In fact David Pajo (formerly of Slint) is somewhat overshadowed by Oldham on occasion. There's a couple throwaways, like on most Oldham albums, but it's mostly very good. I bought it used so I wasn't taking that much of a chance, but I'm pretty sure you'll like it. One of those albums that continues to grow on you long after the newness has worn off, again, much like what happens with Oldham's work.


And just to throw more mud in the water
Davey Sep 15, 2003 1:25 PM

Thought I remembered reading something recently about Oldham rerecording some of the early stuff for a new release and so checked at Pitchfork in the news archive and sure enough, I was right :-)

[Posted Tuesday, September 3rd, 2003 05:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Ashford Tucker reports:
According to Nashville alternative weekly The Scene, Will Oldham is all but through (re)-recording the upcoming Palace greatest-hits record. For those just waking beneath trees with long white beards, Will Oldham is the Louisville, KY based creative force behind all things Palace (-Music, -Songs, -Records, -Flamethrowers) and currently works under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Last fall, Oldham's Palace Records homepage ran an online poll to drum up input for the record's tracklist. Soon afterward we learned that Oldham would be recording new versions of the chosen favorites in Nashville with producer Mark Nevers. Nevers, who has worked with everyone from Vic Chestnutt and the Silver Jews to Hank "Are You Ready for Some Football" Williams, Jr. and Alan Jackson, helped out on this year's Bonnie "Prince" Billy record Master and Everyone and is a longtime associate of Lambchop (longer than Shari Lewis, even).

Nevers says Oldham enjoyed the bounty of talented session players on call in the country music capital, mostly using the same studio crew that generally works with Alan Jackson (!). Oldham took a particular liking to the playing of pianist Hargus "Pig" Robbins, whose influence comes through clearly on the new version of "Gulf Shores."

Drag City is pushing for a fall release, but with Oldham returning to Nashville in September for vocal overdubbing and again in October for final mixing, it's optimistic to think we'll see a finished product by next spring. A complete tracklist is not yet available, but the following songs are reported to have been recorded (in no particular order):

The Brute Choir
Gulf Shores
I Am a Cinematographer
I Send My Love to You
Ohio River Boat Song
Riding
You Will Miss Me When I Burn

Oldham just finished a month long stint in support of Björk. Here's hoping they ****ed and then cried, yielding some spanking-new-type songs for Oldham's next endeavor. You can read Oldham's tour diary and answers to random questions from fans at the Drag City site linked below (our favorite: "Can you confirm or deny the rumor that you've been working on a collaboration with David Berman?" Oldham's response: "Yes I can!").

[Davey]

Nice post, Davey.

Yea, back at you, interesting reading, and pretty cool path you guys were on, thanks.

[Davey]

Yea, viva last blues indeed, got a new 1995 compilation in the cauldron, getting all warm and woozy, and sounding all too cool. This is going to be huge. Stay tuned ... should be up at song of the day before the first rays of light on Friday ... more later ... snooze, ya looze ... no, that last part isn't true ... unless the DMCA finds out, then we're all in the cauldron. Davey? Who's Davey? I don't know any Davey ...

Those pussywillows just break my heart, sweeter than syrup in pinching high heels, who's that knocking, who who's that knocking, he's coming down glass, he's coming down glass.

[noddin0ff]

You just made my Friday morning. Hard drive is spinning, head phones on. Appreciate the tags and comments. Your take on 1995 is a bit different from the 1995 I was listening to. Probably enjoy yours better in hindsight. Tnx

[Davey]

You just made my Friday morning. Hard drive is spinning, head phones on. Appreciate the tags and comments. Your take on 1995 is a bit different from the 1995 I was listening to. Probably enjoy yours better in hindsight. Tnx

Wow, that was quick. Not really as huge as the advance publicity may have implied, but it was quick and fun to make. Track list shows up if you mouse over the link on the song of the day page, but I'll also post it below ... it's all 16-44.1 FLAC encoded ...

1995 Coming Down Glass
01 - Sparklehorse - Homecoming Queen
02 - Sixteen Horsepower - Coal Black Horses
03 - Laika - Coming Down Glass
04 - Yo La Tengo - Paul Is Dead
05 - Stereolab - Mountain/Revox
06 - Red Red Meat - Carpet of Horses
07 - Bjork - Hyper-Ballad
08 - Shack - Walter's Song
09 - Harold Budd & Hector Zazou - And Then She Stepped Aside
10 - Tricky - Aftermath
11 - Three Mile Pilot - Shang vs. Hanger
12 - Tindersticks - A Night In
13 - Palace - New Partner
14 - Morphine - All Your Way
15 - Moby - Into The Blue
16 - Geraldine Fibbers - Get Thee Gone
17 - Richard Buckner - Mud
18 - PJ Harvey - The Dancer
19 - Sparklehorse - Gasoline Horseys



We did a retro comp series around here way back in the day, and this one above is kind of a rehash of my 1995 retro comp, and while about half the artists are the same, the songs aren't, and it does mix in some new artists, so winds up with a different feel than the original below ...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22278349/1995.jpg

[dean_martin]

Thanks, Brother Davey! I was hoping to download it for the weekend, but we had a pipe burst behind a wall on Thursday. Discovered it that afternoon. By then two rooms were flooded. Restoration company brought in a dozen or so blowers that ran all weekend. The home wasn't very homey. All is dry now and the comp is downloading.

[Davey]

Thanks, Brother Davey! I was hoping to download it for the weekend, but we had a pipe burst behind a wall on Thursday.

Yikes, that sounds like so much not fun. Hope it all gets back together and homey again. And if you get a little kick out of the comp, all the better.

[Swish]

Wow, that was quick. Not really as huge as the advance publicity may have implied, but it was quick and fun to make. Track list shows up if you mouse over the link on the song of the day page, but I'll also post it below ... it's all 16-44.1 FLAC encoded ...

1995 Coming Down Glass
01 - Sparklehorse - Homecoming Queen
02 - Sixteen Horsepower - Coal Black Horses
03 - Laika - Coming Down Glass
04 - Yo La Tengo - Paul Is Dead
05 - Stereolab - Mountain/Revox
06 - Red Red Meat - Carpet of Horses
07 - Bjork - Hyper-Ballad
08 - Shack - Walter's Song
09 - Harold Budd & Hector Zazou - And Then She Stepped Aside
10 - Tricky - Aftermath
11 - Three Mile Pilot - Shang vs. Hanger
12 - Tindersticks - A Night In
13 - Palace - New Partner
14 - Morphine - All Your Way
15 - Moby - Into The Blue
16 - Geraldine Fibbers - Get Thee Gone
17 - Richard Buckner - Mud
18 - PJ Harvey - The Dancer
19 - Sparklehorse - Gasoline Horseys



We did a retro comp series around here way back in the day, and this one above is kind of a rehash of my 1995 retro comp, and while about half the artists are the same, the songs aren't, and it does mix in some new artists, so winds up with a different feel than the original below ...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22278349/1995.jpg

...but you exceeded 80 minutes so I had to split this on two CDRs. I'll try to get over it.

[Davey]

Nice job...but you exceeded 80 minutes so I had to split this on two CDRs. I'll try to get over it.

Yea, sorry, didn't even bother to check the time, I haven't burnt a CDR in ages so I'm out of practice in a comp kind of way. Looks like it's 10 minutes over at 1:30:39. Lot of longer songs on this one, plus those two Stereolab songs I merged together cause they are back to back on Refried Ectoplasm so I thought it would be even cooler to make them kind of like one long song, it was sounding so good at the time, probably not.

Didn't think too much on this one, I just grabbed songs from most of the 1995 albums on my computer, then cut the list down to below 20, and then worked a bit on the sequence, and then did a little work on the segues for the first few, and then uploaded. Burn a CDR with 80 minutes, yea forgot all about that. I probably would shorten it a bit if doing again, two or three songs, but as you say, try to get over it :)

It did actually turn out kind of fun, listening now again. I was trying to remember how much of it I was listening to in that 1995 time frame, and how much came later. And I think Sixteen Horsepower, Red Red Meat, Three Mile Pilot and Shack came later, but the rest made up a part of my music place back then. It's odd to think about it, but I actually remember buying a few of them, record shopping was a lot different experience even in the mid 90s.

[Swish]

Yea, sorry, didn't even bother to check the time, I haven't burnt a CDR in ages so I'm out of practice in a comp kind of way. Looks like it's 10 minutes over at 1:30:39. Lot of longer songs on this one, plus those two Stereolab songs I merged together cause they are back to back on Refried Ectoplasm so I thought it would be even cooler to make them kind of like one long song, it was sounding so good at the time, probably not.

Didn't think too much on this one, I just grabbed songs from most of the 1995 albums on my computer, then cut the list down to below 20, and then worked a bit on the sequence, and then did a little work on the segues for the first few, and then uploaded. Burn a CDR with 80 minutes, yea forgot all about that. I probably would shorten it a bit if doing again, two or three songs, but as you say, try to get over it :)

It did actually turn out kind of fun, listening now again. I was trying to remember how much of it I was listening to in that 1995 time frame, and how much came later. And I think Sixteen Horsepower, Red Red Meat, Three Mile Pilot and Shack came later, but the rest made up a part of my music place back then. It's odd to think about it, but I actually remember buying a few of them, record shopping was a lot different experience even in the mid 90s.

Ya know, I'm not really sure why I burned CDRs for this either. I mean, they're in FLAC and I can only play them on my Oppo Blu-Ray or on my PC with Win-Amp or Media Monkey. Would have made more sense to convert them to WAV files before burning (sigh).

[Davey]

It did actually turn out kind of fun, listening now again.

It's probably just me, no... I'm sure it's just me, but seriously, this is such a cool mix, at least up through Bjork throwing cutlery off the cliff, which is where it is right now. Not claiming any credit, just a bunch of really cool artists that kinda play ok together, even though there's a bunch of different styles. Like I said before, fun time, and a fun comp for me :)