Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities Mixtape
One of the best albums of 2007 has to be Okkervil’s River’s The Stage Names. I found this group and album via my fellow subscribers over at eMusic and quickly learned what all the buzz was about. Part alternative and part folk-rock, Okkervil River has a disarming sound that perfectly mixes poetry and pathos. Lead songwriter Will Scheff’s vocal soars over the complex yet accessible arrangements with the ease of Morrissey but the emotional directness of Conor Oberst.
The artists are offering a free album titled Golden Opportunities Mixtape. It is a collection of cover songs, with the exception of one Scheff original, recorded live on their 2006-2007 tour. Any disappointment over the lack of their own unique songs is dissipated by the original takes on these eight cover tracks. Whether it’s a song by Randy Newman or John Cale, Scheff manages to put his personal stamp on it. Of the covers I especially like Joni Mitchell’s “The Blonde in The Bleacher”, John Phillip’s “April Anne” and Sandy Denny’s “Solo”. “Listening To Otis Redding at Home During Christmas” is the one original. It will give the first time listeners a good sense of how exceptional this band is with their own material.
The album is available in 192kbps MP3. If you like the music support the artists by buying their CDs.
It seems that the bands website is not able to handle all download requests. A mirror of the free album can be found at Pitchforkmedia.
It’s worth listening to, thanks for pointing me to this band.
Comment by Micha — December 15, 2007 @ 7:37 am
The Pitchforkmedia-Link seems to be broken. I get some “403 Forbidden” error message when trying to access it. Will there be any other opportunity to get the album?
Comment by Bersaelor — June 18, 2008 @ 11:08 am
Keep the site up. It’s ya boy Cheru out of Thug Town
Comment by Cheru — July 20, 2008 @ 4:43 am
It doesn’t seem to be working either at the band’s website or at Pitchfork. Any chance you could post it as a zip here?
Comment by Lethe — September 16, 2008 @ 12:21 pm