''The Letting Go'' is a 2006 studio album by

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

. It was released on Drag City.

Production

The album was recorded in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and produced by

Valgeir Sigurðsson Valgeir Sigurðsson (born 18 June 1971) is an Icelandic record producer, mixer, composer, audio engineer and musician. Biography Coming from a musical background, Valgeir's fascination with recording technology led to a job in a small recor ...

, who is known for his work with the Icelandic artist

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

. The arrangement was done by

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...

Dawn McCarthy Faun Fables is an American band based in Oakland, California. Faun Fables is a concept and vehicle for Dawn McCarthy, who was inspired to write the original material while traveling after leaving the New York City music scene in 1997. Faun Fable ...

Faun Fables Faun Fables is an American band based in Oakland, California. Faun Fables is a concept and vehicle for Dawn McCarthy, who was inspired to write the original material while traveling after leaving the New York City music scene in 1997. Faun Fable ...

also sings on the album. The album's title comes from the last lines of the

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

poem that starts "After a Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes."

''This is the hour of lead''
''Remembered if outlived,''
''As freezing persons recollect the snow,''
''First chill, then stupor, then the letting go.''

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''The Letting Go'' received an average score of 84% based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' placed ''The Letting Go'' at number 195 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

Emmett Kelly Emmett Leo Kelly (December 9, 1898March 28, 1979) was an American circus performer, who created the clown figure "Weary Willie," based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s. According to Charles W. Carey, Jr.: :Kelly’s creation of ...

– guitar *

– singing * Paul Oldham – bass *

– recording, mixing * Jim White – drums

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Letting Go, The 2006 albums Will Oldham albums Drag City (record label) albums Domino Recording Company albums