Viva Last Blues

by Drag City

$13.97
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Average Rating: * * * * *
Sales Rank:162221 (lower is better)
Price Used:$27.98
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Availability:
Release Date:1995-08-21
Label:Drag City
UPC:078148406527
Binding:Audio CD
Published By:Drag City
ASIN:B0000019RK
Category:Music

Tracks on Viva Last Blues by Drag City

  1. More Brother Rides
  2. Viva Ultra
  3. The Brute Choir
  4. The Mountain Low
  5. Tonight's Decision (And Hereafter)
  6. Work Hard/Play Hard
  7. New Partner
  8. Cat's Blues
  9. We All, Us Three, Will Ride
  10. Old Jerusalem

Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions

Amazon.com

After the dead-Okie solo ballads of the previous full length release, Will Oldham (Mr. Palace himself) got an under-rehearsed band together and set them loose in the studio. Steve Albini's bare bones production is in plain view as drums scrape into the guitars with all the finesse of a basement tape. "More Brother Rides, " "Viva Ultra," "The Brute Choir," and "Work Hard/Play Hard" are the most rhythmic tracks Oldham's ever attempted and the improvisatory nature of the songs allow for some unexpected surprises (Liam Hayes' piano is a loose canon likely to veer off into another song while Bryan Rich's lead work is curiously incompetent at best). --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

if i could a mountain, then i would (bleep) a mountain - Reviewed on 2004-09-06
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2 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.

Recorded by Steve Albini, and featuring Jason Lowenstein. This album came out during the height of indie rock, when the indie labels could do no wrong. This album still holds up to this day, and is just phenomenal. In my opinion it keeps getting better with time. The sound, is soft, but jagged and often hurtful. The voice is deep, and resonates much like Neil Young. I'd highly recommend this album to anyone with any interest in the music of Will Oldham.
we all, us listeners, will ride - Reviewed on 2002-11-07
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6 customers found this review helpful.

i'm a relative newcomer to Will Oldham. i was blown away by Johnny Cash's cover of 'I See A Darkness', and had to hear the original.

well, here i am now, just having picked up my sixth oldham album; and let me say, Viva Last Blues is rocking my world. compared to every other oldham album i've heard, this one really rocks. its as strange and disturbing as the rest, but the quality and intensity of the music sets it apart. i would highly recommend this, along with I See A Darkness, as excellent introductory albums to the music of Will Oldham.

The best american rock and roll album ever recorded - Reviewed on 2002-10-01
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8 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.

OK, now, you must remember that Neil Young is Canadian to accept the claim made in my review title. But if you ever wondered what Exile on Main Street would've sounded like if the Rolling Stones were from Kentucky, and made almost no money, then this may be the album. It has more truly moving songs than VU/Nico w/o the filler. If this album doesn't make you think that to care is to be human, then you're probably already dead.
i like it - Reviewed on 2001-02-24
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1 customer found this review helpful, 3 did not.

i just got this album in on vinyl the other day and its one of those albums you can just love instantly. id call it country, or at least shows traces of country music in it which im not a big fan of, but others would not call it country so i dont know. you will have to decide that for yourself. either way the lyrics can crack you up for a second and than make you kinda zone out the next and the music is just great. so check it out if you want, id recommend it, but who am i? and if you dont like this review, than you probably wont like the album so dont waste your time. thanks for readin and peace.
Fantastic - Reviewed on 2001-01-19
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2 customers found this review helpful.

This may be one of the finest albums I've ever heard. This album must be listened to several times, to really appreciate the depth and breadth of Oldham's genius.

It hardly gets better.

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