Summer In South

In this writer’s opinion-the preeminent songwriter of the last 10 years, Will Oldham has accumulated nearly 30 releases since his debut album in 1993, the most recent of which is his first ever live album, Summer in the Southeast. Coiled together by brother Paul and Will from a number of nights in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina, Southeast collects 17 songs from nine Oldham releases, always offering new arrangements, making the album a must have for any fans of the Push. 

Earlier in the year Oldham collaborated with longtime friend Matt Sweeney on their highly acclaimed album, Superwolf, surprisingly, none of which is represented here. However, Sweeney does play lead guitar and handle backup vocal duties. Other players include longtime Bonnie drummer Peter Townsend, brother/bassist Paul Oldham, obscure guitar hero David Bird, keyman Ryder McNair, someone named Pink Nasty and, of course, the Prince himself.

Much of Southeast is comprised of Oldham classics (“I See a Darkness,” “O Let It Be,” “May it Always Be,” “Pushkin,” etc.). However, Oldham offers a few surprises, most notably the inclusion of “Blokbuster,” a somewhat obscure track from his hard to find Hope EP. Other highlights include “Wolf Among Wolves” and “Beast for Thee,” both of which have been fleshed out from their acoustic origins to full-fledged rockers. Closing with a trio of lesser known songs - “Even if Love,” “Send My Love to You” and “Take However Long You Want” - Oldham and band return for an excellent two song encore. First up is the Crazy Horse-esque, rocked-up version of “Madeleine Mary” followed by a quiet, powerful take on the title track to Bonnie’s Ease Down the Road album.

In addition to a wonderful sampling of Oldham’s extensive catalog and all new arrangements, Southeast also offers beautiful album artwork and a complete lyric book (to the Oldham fanatics out there, yes, this does include a handful of songs for which Will has never officially released dictation). Call him Will, call him Bonnie or call him Push, Summer in the Southeast‘s collective format likely stands as the chief document of Oldham’s brilliance. Never before has such a broad sampling of his work been collected onto a single disc. Simply put, one of the best songwriters of all time, collected live - and feisty as ever. He’s still got clown in his eyes, he’s still laughing. Radiant as ever, Bonnie.    6.5/10

Written by G. William Locke