Review of Black/ Rich music
aaron gerber | MA U.S.A. | 09/18/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A slight, modest recording, more or less alternating between instrumental guitar/organ music and solo Will Oldham songs. The organ songs are cheap toy music sounding, very indie rock: thin meandering melodies crudely played, but at least they're short. The four "real" songs are equally crude but far more loveable. Will sounds nice and close, like Days in the Wake but with slightly glossier production. Each is good, but nothing amazing. "Do what you will do" is repetitive, similar to "You will Miss me When I Burn" from Days in the Wake, same feeling as well. "The Risen Lord" which as stated above culls it's lyrics from some D.H. Lawrence poem is actually very good. Occasionally the language takes on a cumbersomeness that is not alien to some of Will's own lyrics but overall the song has an epic majestic quality and a lovely lilting melody. "Allowance" is another simple but effective song, as is "Black/Rich Tune". Overall a very mediocre album for Mr. Oldham but compared to a lot of the world's music, very good. There are no glaringly bad songs, but no extremely memorable ones either. I recommend this record only for fans that want to hear everything Will has done."
Black and rich
Joachim Lyssens | Leuven, Belgium | 11/29/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is another solo effort by Will Oldham, and it first it may seem a little strange. Some songs have a vocal version and an instrumental version, but once you're used to this, you'll find that this CD is as good as the other ones!"
A perfect blend of instrumental and song writing
Hippie Smell | Brooklyn | 05/18/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love Will Oldham. I especially like him on an acoustic guitar playing alone. One of my favorite Palace albums is Days in the Wake. I've never been able to get into his instrumental album as they are too sparse for my taste and I feel like the songs with singing are more relevant. However, on this album I like the blend of the two styles. The sparse instrumentals in between songs either echo the melody from the previous song, or just set a mood of isolation. I really enjoy this album and strongly recommend it to anyone considering his EPs. I would recommend Hope first, and this one second. Enjoy."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1