With the inevitability of a child’s ice cream hitting the summer hot tarmac, but the unmitigated joy of getting free scoops of new flavours of ice cream, Bill Callahan and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy have teamed up with a diverse group of pals to record a slew of covers.
While we await whichever record company has secured the release deal (surely Drag City) to come up with some sexy gatefold packaging, I’ve compiled said tunes in to a single playlist here.
To date there have been 18 releases with one of Will Oldham’s 1996 tracks, Arise, Therefore, making the listing. And their other covers include songs by Lou Reed, Cat/Yusuf Stevens, Hank Williams, Jr., Dave Rich, the Other Years, Billie Eilish, Steely Dan, Smog (Bill Callahan), Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Wyatt and Little Feat.
Their co-conspirators are a pretty extraordinary who’s who of indie so far including Ty Segall (Sic Alps), Matt Sweeney (Zwan & Chavez), David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol & Bastro), Meg Baird (Espers), Emmett Kelly (Cairo Gang, Joan of Arc), Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance & Comets on Fire), Sir Richard Bishop (Sun City Girls), David Pajo (kind of everything… Sonic Youth, Papa M, etc to infinity), Bill MacKay, Sean O’Hagan (The High Llamas, Stereolab), Azita (Isotope 217, The Bride of No No), Mick Turner (Dirty Three), Todd Rittman (Dead Rider, U.S. Maple), George/Giorgos Xylouris, Nathan Salsburg, Matt Kinsey (Bill Callahan’s go to guitarist), Cory Hanson (Wand, Mikal Cronin) and Alasdair Roberts (Amalgamated Sons of Rest).
