Viva Last Blues

Viva Last Blues
Studio album by Palace Music
Released	August 21, 1995 (1995-08-21)
Recorded	Alabama, U.S.
Genre	Folk rock
Length	31:27
Label	Drag City
Producer	Steve Albini
Will Oldham / Palace chronology
Days in the Wake (1994) Viva Last Blues (1995) Arise Therefore (1996)

Viva Last Blues is the third studio album by Will Oldham. It was released under the moniker Palace Music on Drag City in 1995. The album features Oldham on vocals and guitar, and was recorded by Steve Albini.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Melody Maker	Recommended [2]
NME	8/10 [3]
Q	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Spin	8/10 [6]
Uncut	[7]

Pitchfork placed the album at number 60 on the "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s" list. ^[8] In 2007, Blender placed it at number 98 on the "100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever" list. ^[9] In 2019, John Green reviewed the song "New Partner" for his podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed; he gave it 4 stars. ^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"More Brother Rides"	3:18
2.	"Viva Ultra"	3:18
3.	"The Brute Choir"	2:43
4.	"The Mountain Low"	2:44
5.	"Tonight's Decision (and Hereafter)"	4:10
6.	"Work Hard/Play Hard"	2:50
7.	"New Partner"	3:54
8.	"Cat's Blues"	3:18
9.	"We All, Us Three, Will Ride"	2:56
10.	"Old Jerusalem"	2:16

UK limited edition bonus 7"

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Black/Rich Tune"	3:19
2.	"You Have Cum... (Alt. Version)"	2:51

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

• Liam Hayes – piano, organ
• Jason Loewenstein – drums, additional vocals
• Ned Oldham – bass guitar, slide guitar, additional vocals
• Will Oldham – vocals, guitar
• Bryan Rich – lead guitar
• Steve Albini – recording
• Eric Bates – engineering
• Eugene Bates – engineering
• Dianne Bellino – cover drawing
• Cynthia Kirkwood – painting

References

1. D'Angelo, Peter J. "Viva Last Blues – Palace Music". AllMusic . Retrieved June 17, 2016.
2. Conway, Jamie T. (August 12, 1995). "Where there's Will, there's a way" . Melody Maker . Vol. 72, no. 32. p. 34. Retrieved March 6, 2024– via Internet Archive.
3. "Palace Music: Viva Last Blues". NME . August 19, 1995. p. 49.
4. "Palace Music: Viva Last Blues". Q . No. 108. September 1995. p. 118.
5. Panahpour, Nilou (November 2, 1995). "Palace: Viva Last Blues". Rolling Stone . p. 70. Archived from the original on March 27, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
6. Hainley, Bruce (December 1995). "Palace Music: Viva Last Blues". Spin . Vol. 11, no. 9. p. 123. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
7. Bonner, Michael (March 2012). "Palace: The Early Years". Uncut . No. 178. p. 100.
8. "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (page 5 of 10)". Pitchfork . November 17, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
9. "Blender's 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever". Stereogum . November 14, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
10. "The Hall of Presidents and New Partner". The Anthropocene Reviewed . March 18, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2025.

External links

• Viva Last Blues at Discogs (list of releases)