Bonnie "Prince" Billy: Best Troubadour (Drag City) Review

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy

Best Troubadour

Drag City

May 12, 2017 Web Exclusive By Stephen Mayne

Will Oldham is not a man to sit back and take things easy. Since adopting the Bonnie “Prince” Billy name in 1998 (and before that under a different guise), he’s been churning out music at a prodigious rate.

Churn isn’t really a fair description for work shifting somewhere around acoustic, post punk, folksy, and countrified soul baring. Much of it has been very good too. On Best Troubadour he decides to show his workings by paying tribute to country singer Merle Haggard who died last year.

Oldham selects tracks from across Haggard’s long career to offer a personalized journey through his work. Some, like “Leonard,” offer rollicking character studies, while many turn into lovelorn stories. The country sound is further pepped up by the occasional inclusion of a saxophone or flute.

Best Troubadour is a pleasant, warm-hearted experience. It’s a little like arriving at a bar to find a country band firing up in the corner. They’ll smile, croon, and jig their way through several rousing numbers, providing an amiable backdrop to the night out. Then everyone can leave satisfied. (www.dragcity.com/artists/bonnie-prince-billy)

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