One listener, at least, will miss them. Oldham's raspy whine and indifferent guitar picking give his songs a casual, honest feel, but his preference for pickup musicians has kept him from developing a healthy rapport with a band. The result is that each Palace album grows tiresome, even at a standard length of 30 minutes. The music is compelling, but it doesn't grow . Thank goodness for Lost Blues and Other Songs , a collection of singles that appropriately spotlights Oldham's talent and effectively explains why his fans are so rabid.
Lost Blues has a welcome variety of sounds.
Even though the songs' rambling-folkie structures never vary, at least the instrumentation shifts from time to time. More importantly, Lost Blues shows a progression and a commitment to a concept. Oldham has been accused of being willfully slack and of playing at primitivism. Nashville Scene . Info Booth .