I bought "there is no one what will take care of you" years ago and listened once and thought it quite crappy.

Somehow I kept listening until it started to really resonate with me. Every listen since then has taught me that being proficient in one's instrument isn't necessarily needed in order to convey meaningful feeling in the listener. (Some of the songs sound like they're not only first takes, but first attempts through the song!)

For this lesson alone: Not Crap.

No waffles.

Pure L wrote:I bought "there is no one what will take care of you" years ago and listened once and thought it quite crappy.

Somehow I kept listening until it started to really resonate with me. Every listen since then has taught me that being proficient in one's instrument isn't necessarily needed in order to convey meaningful feeling in the listener. (Some of the songs sound like they're not only first takes, but first attempts through the song!)

For this lesson alone: Not Crap.

No waffles.

A lesson, no doubt, that Will learned from Bob Dylan, who prefers to record this way.

I have to admit that I was underwhelmed at first by There is No-one.... But I was blown away by Palace Brothers (later renamed Days in the Wake) and have been a big fan ever since.

Run Around on Fire wrote:-I'm not a fan of the whole Harmony Korine/heroin-addict atmosphere.

I'm trying to figure out what this means.

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:I was blown away by Palace Brothers (later renamed Days in the Wake) and have been a big fan ever since.

Days in the Wake is what made a convert out of me. It's such a powerful group of songs.

Pure L wrote:I bought "there is no one what will take care of you" years ago and listened once and thought it quite crappy.

Somehow I kept listening until it started to really resonate with me. Every listen since then has taught me that being proficient in one's instrument isn't necessarily needed in order to convey meaningful feeling in the listener. (Some of the songs sound like they're not only first takes, but first attempts through the song!)

For this lesson alone: Not Crap.

No waffles.

I just bought it again. I had the same experience with it. Maybe now that I'm a little more familiar w/ Oldham's style it affected me more. Love "Drunk At the Pulpit", "Devil's Playthings" and a few others. Definitely like the spontaneous feel that LP has.

Is Guarapero/Lost Blues any good? That's one of the only other ones I've yet to check out.

I really like Ease Down The Road, both the songs and the arrangements - the musical and lyrical quirks add to the songs instead of overshadowing them.

I agree with Ease Down the Road being great...

Though for some reason, I remember thinking it was not as good as I see a Darkness (which I suppose it's not) when I first heard it.

I have recently come back to Ease Down the Road, and was blown away by the quality and charm in there song after song...

"You fuck and what's to do...

(You Fuck!)

"It's not your Kingdom Too"

DefinitelyNOTtheSWEDE wrote:
"You fuck and what's to do...

(You Fuck!)

"It's not your Kingdom Too"

I love that little cracked laugh he makes before singing the last line. Oldham, you prankster!

"Just To See My Holly Home" is a good one too. I believe he stole that "in come babies, 1, 2, 3" from Dylan, altho I could be wrong.

Easily the finest lyricist in his strand of music since Dylan, though I'm not sure if it's a fair comparison. Oldham seems more subjective in his musings. Plus he wrote the song "Come a little dog", which I don't think Dylan could've pulled off. I love the sort of sloppy, "seize the moment" quality of his recordings, something which I understood better after reading Steve Albini's comments on this thread.

My introduction to him was the "Gulf Shores/West Palm Beach" record. My favorite one is "Viva Last Blues". I don't buy every Oldham record when it comes out, but I'll buy every Oldham record, eventually.

Not crap. One of my favorite artists, ever.

I've always found Days In The Wake by Palace so beautiful that it almost makes me ill-at-ease. It's a very strange feeling.

Also, once, after a gig he played he came to speak to me (only a few words, but still) and he was really nice.

He's anything but crap!