The Letting Go is a 2006 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Will Oldham

Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...

. It was recorded in Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

, Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 and produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson

Valgeir Sigurðsson

Valgeir Sigurðsson is an Icelandic record producer, mixer, composer, engineer and musician.-Biography:Coming from a musical background Valgeir's fascination with recording technology lead to a job in a small recording studio at the age of 16. He studied classical guitar and graduated with a...

, who is known for his work with the Icelandic artist Björk

Björk

Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...

. This album's arrangement was done by Nico Muhly

Nico Muhly

Nico Muhly is a contemporary classical music composer, who has worked and recorded with classical and pop/rock musicians. He currently lives in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan in New York City.-Early years:...

. Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables

Faun Fables

Faun Fables is a band from 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 Fables also covers both 20th century compositions by other song writers...

 also sings on the album.

The album's name comes from the last lines of the Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...

 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.

Reception

The music review online magazine

Online magazine

An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...

 Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

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

Track listing

1. "Love Comes to Me" – 4:31
2. "Strange Form of Life
   Strange Form of Life
   Strange Form of Life is the name of a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy EP, whose title track is taken from the 2006 album The Letting Go. The remainder of the EP comes from a Daytrotter session recorded by Will Oldham in August 2006...
   
   " – 3:46
3. "Wai" – 3:37
4. "Cursed Sleep
   Cursed Sleep
   "Cursed Sleep" is the name of a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy single taken from the 2006 album The Letting Go. The single comes in both 12" vinyl and CD formats.-External links:*[ Review] by Allmusic...
   
   " – 5:35
5. "No Bad News" – 4:45
6. "Cold & Wet
   Cold & Wet
   "Cold & Wet" is the name of a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy single taken from the 2006 album The Letting Go. It also includes a version of "The Way", originally from Master and Everyone , recorded live on the Pebbles and Ripples Tour in 2004 , and "Buried Treasure", a Kenny Rogers cover "Cold & Wet" is the...
   
   " – 2:21
7. "Big Friday" – 2:43
8. "Lay and Love
   Lay & Love
   "Lay & Love" is the name of a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy single taken from the 2006 album The Letting Go. The single includes two Bob Dylan cover songs...
   
   " – 3:50
9. "The Seedling" – 4:36
10. "Then the Letting Go" – 5:19
11. "God's Small Song" – 4:05
12. "I Called You Back" – 7:53
13. "Ebb Tide" – 5:14 (hidden track
    Hidden track
    In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
    
    ). Bonus track on some versions, "Untitled" on some versions.

Personnel

• Emmett Kelly – guitar
• Dawn McCarthy – singing
• Paul Oldham – bass
• Valgeir Sigurdsson – recording, mixing
• Jim White
  Jim White (drummer)
  Jim White is an Australian drummer . He is the drummer for the Dirty Three, a band formed in Melbourne, but he has also played with a number of other groups, including:*Tren Brothers, consisting of Jim White and Mick Turner, guitarist of the Dirty Three....
  
  – drums