Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “The Cross” (Prince Cover)

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “The Cross” (Prince Cover)

Prince has a catalog full of incredible deep cuts, and one of the best is “The Cross,” a scorching rock ballad that appeared on his classic 1987 doubt album Sign O’ The Times. (It’s hard finding it online anywhere if you don’t have Tidal, but you can hear a live version here.) When Will Oldham took on his Bonnie “Prince” Billy moniker, he probably wasn’t naming himself after Prince, but you never know with that guy. In any case, Oldham did once cover Prince: As part of a 1994 BBC session with John Peel. Oldham has collected a bunch of those old sessions on the new album Pond Scum, and one of the songs he included is a ramshackle two-minute country-folk take on “The Cross.” Check it out below, via NPR.

Pond Scum is out 1/22 on Drag City. Check out the non-album track “Rich Wife Full Of Happiness.”

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