The Purple Bird

Singer/songwriter Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, has had an infatuation with traditional country music for the entirety of his career, and its influence has grown more pronounced at different phases of his discography. Though his enigmatic persona is always present in his songs, some of Oldhams most engaging tunes are those where hes tempered his strangeness with the warm familiarity of classic country underpinnings. In 2004, his Greatest Palace Music collection took this approach into overdrive, re-recording new versions of some of his early outsider Americana songs in full Nashville regalia, with crack session players transforming the songs into traditional country and/or Western arrangements. The Purple Bird represents Oldham taking another swing at the time-honored Nashville sound. Album producer David Ferguson (a longtime collaborator of Oldhams who has also worked with Johnny Cash, Sturgil Simpson, and many other big names of country) co-wrote many of the songs, assembled a band, and connected a host of talented guests to bring the sessions to life. Fergusons hand on the album is best felt in its most lively moments, like the joyous "The Waters Fine" with its chicken-scratch guitar leads and grinning fiddle parts or the timeless honky tonk bumble of "Tonight with the Dogs Im Sleeping," a hilarious drunkards lament that sees its flailing protagonist literally sleeping in the doghouse after a long night out. However, ballads like the beautifully melancholic "Boise, Idaho" and album standout "One of These Days (Im Gonna Spend the Whole Night with You)" are just as powerful if more refined, both with gentle soft-rock melodic sensibilities that merge with dreamy pedal steel, electric piano, or mandolin augmentation to create an almost tropical take on the traditional country slow dance. Oldham is the sole writer on several songs, including "Guns Are for Cowards," which uses a buoyant and celebratory oompah instrumental as the backdrop for lyrics about horrific gun violence, the understated "Sometimes Its Hard to Breathe," and the horn-heavy mellowness of "New Water." These songs are great, but they feel more in keeping with the sound of recent work like 2023s Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You. The Purple Bird shines the brightest in its most collaborative moments. Its when the band is in full swing that Oldham sounds tuned-in and excited (even giddy) to be crafting the kind of classic country record that hes enjoyed so much himself. The depth of the production helps deliver this feeling, elevating the sound of The Purple Bird to a place where all of its carefully placed details and rusty joy can be clearly heard, and even more markedly felt. ~ Fred Thomas

ダン・オーバック(ブラック・キーズ)に繋がるデヴィッド・ファーガソンら計3人のプロデューサーを迎え、ナッシュヴィルの手練れたちと作った30作目。これまでのローファイというイメージを覆すウェルメイドな作風と力強い歌声にちょっとびっくり。曲によってはケイジャン、アイリッシュ、ブルーグラスのエッセンスも香る。ザ・バンドを思わせる瞬間もあり。
bounce (C)山口智男