There isn't really much common musical ground between Tortoise (at the jazzy end of the post-rock spectrum) and Will Oldham, aka Bonnie Prince Billy (who lives at the beardy end of the alt-country universe). You might think that their musical differences could lead to an exciting collaboration - and you might well be right - but this covers album isn't it. Occasionally, they create an interesting new version, most notably a mournful (Oldham doesn 't do much else) reading of Richard Thompson's Calvary Cross and a surprisingly straightforward (yet still mournful) version of Springsteen's Thunder Road. Mostly, though, their efforts seem confused (Devo's That's Pep) or just dull (Melanie's I Got Devil). Confirmed fans will be able to take a glass-half-full view of proceedings, but this album never lives up to its title.
Domino