Bill Callahan, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Blind Date Party (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Bill Callahan, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Blind Date Party (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:30:12 minutes | 1,03 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Drag City Records

During lockdown, these two titans of left-field US songcraft collaborated remotely with a vast roll call of other musicians, recording cover versions by fellow masters (Leonard Cohen, Yusuf Islam) as well as their labelmates. A smattering of reworked originals includes electrifying takes on Callahan’s Our Anniversary and Oldham’s Arise, Therefore; the talents involved range from Cretan lute player George Xylouris to Australian guitarist Mick Turner (Dirty Three). The majority of these 19 tracks are loose online; Blind Date Party corrals them for the artefact buyer.

The voices of Callahan and Oldham provide a through line in what can occasionally be unexpected stylistic forays. Least best is a version of Billie Eilish’s Wish You Were Gay: High Llama Sean O’Hagan’s flippant, tinny beats point to a grave generational misunderstanding of digital pop. But almost everything else succeeds in having revelatory fun with old favourites or hitting the listener hard– or both. There are country songs about cocaine, and a loose take on Steely Dan, the tightest of bands. A chorus of dozens contributes to a moving cover of a Silver Jews song guided by the late David Berman’s partner and bandmate Cassie Berman.

Tracklist:

1-1. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Azita – Blackness of the Night (feat. AZITA) (03:45)
1-2. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Matt Sweeney – OD’d in Denver (feat. Matt Sweeney) (03:30)
1-3. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Alasdair Roberts – I’ve Made Up My Mind (feat. Alasdair Roberts) (04:27)
1-4. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Red Tailed Hawk (feat. Matt Kinsey) (02:40)
1-5. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Sean O’Hagan – Wish You Were Gay (feat. Sean O’Hagan) (03:54)
1-6. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Dead Rider – Our Anniversary (feat. Dead Rider) (05:19)
1-7. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. George Xylouris – Rooftop Garden (feat. George Xylouris) (06:20)
1-8. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Bill MacKay – Deacon Blues (feat. Bill MacKay) (07:17)
1-9. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. David Pajo – I Love You (feat. David Pajo) (06:41)
1-10. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Mick Turner – Sea Song (feat. Mick Turner) (07:21)
1-11. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Meg Baird – I’ve Been The One (feat. Meg Baird) (03:55)
1-12. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Ty Segall – Miracles (feat. Ty Segall) (04:17)
1-13. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – I Want To Go To The Beach (feat. Cooper Crain) (05:34)
1-14. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Cory Hanson – Night Rider’s Lament (feat. Cory Hanson) (04:59)
1-15. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Six Organs Of Admittance – Arise, Therefore (feat. Six Organs of Admittance) (03:24)
1-16. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. David Grubbs – The Night of Santiago (feat. David Grubbs) (04:16)
1-17. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – The Wild Kindness (feat. Cassie Berman) (03:32)
1-18. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Emmett Kelly – Lost in Love (feat. Emmett Kelly) (04:05)
1-19. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. Sir Richard Bishop – She is My Everything (feat. Sir Richard Bishop) (04:46)

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