River Ain't Too Much to Love

Smog | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 31, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Drag City
• ASIN: B0009ESSI8
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,710 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #97 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Lo-Fi

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bill Callahan is one of a number of performers who present their work under the banner of a band name. It's generally just him, other times with various cohorts along. This set is given added punch and sparkle by the quietly incessant rhythms of drummer Jim White (his rolling foundation for "The Well" sounds like a cowboy gallop across the prairie). Also, it's great to hear acoustic guitars being utilized for music not tied to just folk traditions. Callahan's songs are slices of Americana at its finest--from the Yankee transcendentalism of New England forefathers to the sweep of westward expansion and the chokehold of loss and longing. The first song's opening words are "winter weather" and the closing number's final phrase is "thinking of the future." In between lies just about anything you need. --David Greenberger

Product Description

Smog's Bill Callahan goes back to the root on A River Ain't Too Much to Love, his first full-length offering in two years. While it's true that his name is nearly synonymous with lo-fi, in recent years Callahan has experimented with different -- albeit simple -- production techniques such as on Dongs of Sevotion and Rain on Lens. Supper, issued in 2003, was more direct, both sonically and personally, and that tack is followed here, though the framework is even sparser. On this, his 12th album, Callahan journeyed south from Chicago to Willie Nelson's Pedernales recording studio in Spicewood, TX. Accompanied by the Dirty Three's Jim White once more holding down the drum chair, and Connie Lovatt on bass and backing vocals, Callahan evokes the ethos and poetry of spooky American folk and country music without ever actually playing them in his own tomes, using mainly waltzes to frame them. Americana this ain't. Callahan has the ability to write first-person narrative songs that cannily juxtapose an evocative physcal landscape that metaphorically refernces deep emotional states; he uses it to great effect here. The skeletal "Say Valley Maker" equates the loss of and longing for love with a river's ability to both fertilize and strip bare the floor of a valley. Callahan's acoustic guitar plays a pair of repetitive figures, graced by an unidentified shimmering sound just above the threshold of silence, graced by White's restrained, rudimentary beat. "Rock Bottom Riser" is a song of resurrection, and again, it's a waltz. In the first verse, a nylon-stringed guitar hypnotically plays the changes in plectrum style, as White uses brushes to shift time while underscoring it, making the tune seem to float. The singer speaks with gratitude to the memory of an absent lover. As Joanna Newsom's piano underscores and fills the melody, Callahan's character finds a transformed sense of self in rising from his loss. It's slippery, lilting pace and restrained vocal create a tension that frames the tune's poignancy. The true nod to roots tradition here is also the album's centerpiece. His version of "In the Pines" is reverent without feeling staid, hampered by its place in history. A delicate, reedy, meandering tempo adorned in a simple guitar line and drums unpacks the melody, and Callahan's delivery is the seed of memory as it comes up from the ether, urging the singer to tell the whole story while keeping his composure. Travis Weller's edgy fiddle exposes the crack in the tale, however, and the grain of Callahan's voice walks the line between reverie and regret. A River Ain't Too Much to Love is a subdued, plaintive collection of songs that accompany silence; they encourage reflection without guile and unveil themselves without a hint of studied artifice. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's a lot to love about River, June 4, 2005

By 

Hippie Smell "hippie_smell" (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: River Ain't Too Much to Love (Audio CD)

This album is fantastic. All I can say is that Bill Callahan rarely dissapoints, and he definitely delivers again A River Ain't Much to Love. For the uninitiated, Smog has a similar vibe to The Velvet Underground, and Leonard Cohen. But don't let that distract you because this guy still maintains a great deal of originality. This album was recorded in Willie Nelson's studio, and you can definitely detect a bit of folk/country flavor on this album. The song Rock Bottom Riser is a complete standout. I would say that if you are new to Smog this as good as any point to jump in, as all of his works are pretty consistent. If you're an old fan this album will nto dissapoint, and you'll probably find this to be his best album since Dongs of Sevotion or Red Apple Falls.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars there is no love where there is no bramble, August 18, 2005

By 

Lieutenant Homunculus - See all my reviews

This review is from: River Ain't Too Much to Love (Audio CD)

i've been in and out of love with smog for years now. now 'A River Ain't Too Much To Love' has me convinced that this man is our generation's dylan, our cash, and our audrey hepburn. listen here, this man commands me to step into his world like the rosasharons outside my bedroom window command the honey bees to their nectar; the supply of sweet sweet honey is eternal. "with the grace of a corpse and a riptide i let go and i slide slide slide down river". if smog is already your cup of tea then you've no choice but to hang on for the ride but there's a dude on here who knock's on bill's vocals. that dude had cowpiss filling his eardrums when he threw the needle on. calahan's voice has never been more refined, more effortlessly palpable than on any other album. his words are crisp and sharp and wrapped in a bandage of unrelentless love. that dude said the first track 'Palimpset' instantly rubbed him the wrong way. that dude aparently has no soul. 'Palimpset' is bill gracefully crashing through the barrier of apathy all of you sour-nosed indie rockers and lo-fi mourners live behind. he grabs your smooth skinned hand and dips it in the mud he just waded through to get here and says listen up, i've been fumbling around love all these years and i've finally got it by the nose. i've finally got it. i saw smog play four years ago and their performance was disappointing. i saw smog play four nights ago and my girl had to prop my bottom lip up with a stick. if you are fortunate enough to find yourself before this band on stage imagine the energy on this album magnified tenfold. don't forget about jim white, dirty three drummer and smog pillar. this guy cuts the skins with such grace and subtle complexity; white is the mortar in the sound that makes up the four walls in a home you won't ever want (have) to leave. thanks, smog.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Of The Year, August 10, 2005

By 

Human Capote (kansas City, Mo USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: River Ain't Too Much to Love (Audio CD)

I place this album at the top of my best of the year list. I have to be careful though, because the songs get stuck and play over and over in my head. I don't want to compare this to anyone else...it lives on it's own. Bill is a poet who knows how to invent the perfect music to get his words across. I got to witness him and his band perform this music the other night in a small smokey bar and it was just wonderful (except for the smoke). The drummer, Jim White, is one of the best in the business. Don't miss this one.