Where to start with Bill Callahan?
I wouldn't know the lad if he was stood in front of me singing a montage of his fav tunes don't you know. But I have a feeling I might like his music.
Any must have albums et?
Thank you.
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Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle
is absolutely fucking essential. A magnificent album of beautiful, poetic song writing and ingenious wordplay.
Follow that up with his 'Smog' work, starting with Knock Knock, then A River Ain't Too Much to Love and Dongs of Sevotion if you like those.
*Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle (sorry)
Don't apologise
The opportunity to read that in a slurred Mancunian accent has brought me great joy
A River Ain't Too Much to Love
is the only one I have, so I can't say whether it's the best one to start with, but it's certainly damn good,
Cheers.
Just bought sometimes I wish....
Apocolypse very good
Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle very good
thats all i know about that
Knock Knock and A River Ain't Too Much To Love
are his best, both under the Smog name. Knock Knock is probably his most pop. A River...is very dry, stripped down Americana and folk and is possibly most consistently strong. Red Apple Falls is often overlooked but great also. His early stuff as Smog is quite different, very lo-fi and it's before his voiced turned into that gorgeous baritone. Accumulation: None is a collection of bits and bobs and is worth it just for the amazing Peel Session version of I Break Horses.
Pretty much ^this
especially re 'Red Apple Falls' but I'd also recommend 'Wild Love' too, if only for 'Bathysphere'. The 'Cold Blooded Old Times' CD EP also features the Peel Session versions of 'Chosen One' and 'I Break Horses' and the 'Rock Bottom Riser' CD EP has one of his best songs, 'Bowery' on it along with a couple of videos. You're in for a treat
I love Bill
A River... would be my suggestion as a starting point but Sometimes I Wish... should do the job too.
If you do need more later then do consider Accumulation: None as B_S says above. Chosen One, Real Live Dress, I Break Horses and, possibly my favourite of his, White Ribbon.
I also really like Supper. Has a really strong middle section: Ambition, Vessel in Vain, Truth Serum and Our Anniversary. An amazing 1-2-3-4.
Absolutely loving
Sometimes I wish we were an eagle. This is going to get expensive. Thanks again.
Eid Ma Clack Shaw and Rococo Zephyr are beautiful right?
The idea behind Eid Ma is genius, "When I woke, what I wrote I read", god I love that album. Enjoy! Also I like that you simply bought the album straight up without listening to any of it first for free, I rarely ever do that these days. Then again, I don't think it's on spotify and only the singles are on youtube.
Certainly an album worth buying
A real modern classic, that one.
Dongs of Sevotion
Is one of my favourites too.
Dress Sexy For My Funeral.
Dongs of Sevotion
One of my favourite albums of all time
Red Apple Falls is my favourite
...but maybe Knock Knock would be the best entry point?
Apocalypse is one of his weakest I feel
agreed.
Start with Knock Knock (for artwork alone) then I''d say try Dongs of Sevoltion before Red Apple Falls (fav) then Dr Came at Dawn and wild love. Then the records as "Bill Callahan"
He's posted that he started with Eagle and loves it
Knock Knock (Smog) & Apocalypse (Bill Callahan)
A River Ain't Too Much To Love
Is my personal favourite. Red Apple Falls comes second, mostly because of 'Ex-Con' which is pretty much my favourite song of all time.
Yeah. Expensive couple of days.
Bought sometimes I wish we were an eagle, rough travel for a rare thing, apocalypse, dongs of sevotion and knock knock. Picked up a river ain't too much to love second hand in freebird. Bloody marvellous but skint.
Knock Knock
Then Red Apple Falls, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, Wild Love, Apocalypse...
That's if you like what you hear of course. Otherwise just keep listening to Knock Knock until ya do.
Can't help feeling a little foolish
Not having been onto this a long time ago. Better late than never. Forward obsession - AWAY!
Knock Knock for me...
With Sometimes just behind.
There's a lot to explore. He's really fantastic and his music is quite varied between records.
A great live performer too. The band he had on the Sometimes tour was great, better than on the Rough Travel record, I think. There was a cellist, violinist, drummer, guitarist and Bill.
Someone upthread said Apocalypse was one of his weaker records. Although it doesn't hit the heights or have the diversity of some of the others, it's great folksy Americana.
I love his voice on the chorus of Drover, "one thing about this wild, wild country"
Apocalypse is a proper grower
Riding for the Feeling is a beauty.